The Wiltshire White Horses are an interesting element of the English history – there are a lot of them. In fact, there are other cultures that were so inspired by them that they have 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). Devizes is one of the former and located within Wiltshire.
This is the the newest of the Wiltshire horses, having been cut by 200 local people in 1999.
Devizes Basics
Use the latitude & longitude coordinates to find it on Google earth yourself.
Where – This horse can be found north of Devizes on Roundway Hill overlooking the village of Roundway.
Size – 150 feet wide by 147 feet high.
Year Created – 1999
Latitude & Longitude – 51.223479N 1.584236W
The Story
This is actually the New Devizes horse. The old one was cut in 1845 by local shoemakers, but sadly fell into disrepair and was no longer visible by the end of the 19th century. There was long talk of restoring the horse but nothing happened until quite recently.
This is one of only 4 white horses in Britain that faces to the right.
To celebrate the millennium, 200 local people cut the new horse which was designed by Peter Greed. Sadly by 2008 the horse fell again to disrepair, but since then it has been well-maintained and is easy to view.
More Information
Here are a couple of sources for information about the Devizes White Horse.
Devizes White Horse
Wiltshire White Horses – Devizes
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.