The Wiltshire White Horses are definitely an intriguing part of the history in England. In fact, several other cultures have followed suite & created their own.
There is a long list of white chalk horses, some of them are located in Wiltshire & collectively known as the Wiltshire horses, others are located in different areas of Britain (with a few outside the country altogether). Broad Town is one of the former and located within Wiltshire.
This is one of the smaller and more obscure horses as it has suffered neglect through much of its existence.
Broad Town Basics
Use the latitude & longitude coordinates to find it on Google earth yourself.
Where – This horse can be found half a mile north east of Broad Town & is visible from the village.
Size – 80 feet wide by 60 feet high.
Year Created – Probably 1864
Latitude & Longitude – 51.301195N 1.513291W
The Story
There are several stories about where this horse came from, one says it was cut in 1864 by William Simmonds of Littleton Farm (where the horse lays). William’s plan was to gradually enlarge the horse as he suspected the older ones had been created. Unfortunately he lost the farm and was unable to complete his project.
Another account is based on a letter from 1919 by Wotton Bassett who claimed that in 1863 he spent time scouring the horse & at that point was told it was 50 years old.
Not only is the Broad Town horse beautiful, but it is a local mystery as well.
Broad Town suffered from poor maintenance throughout its life until 1991 when the Broad Town White Horse Restoration Society was founded. This society raised funds to re-chalk the horse and continue to maintain it properly.
More Information
Here are a couple of sources for information about the Broad Town White Horse.
Broad Town White Horse
Wiltshire White Horses – Broad Town
More Huge White Horses
There are plenty more where that came from, this is just the second in a long list of huge horses on this planet of ours. Be sure to check out the list of white horses and stay tuned for more to come.