Tower and Town, April 2023

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White Horses Of Wiltshire

For over 200 years, Marlborough has been home to one of Wiltshire’s thirteen white horses. Over time, five of those amazing landmarks have faded back into their natural surroundings, leaving eight white horses visible in Wiltshire today, which date from 1778 to 1999, and in total these make up half of the white horses visible in England.

Each white horse in Wiltshire has its own unique history and meaning and the one right on our doorstep is no different. The Marlborough white horse was designed by William Canning, son of Thomas Canning of the Manor house in Ogbourne St. George, and cut in 1804 by the pupils of Mr Gresley’s school. It is believed to have been created to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the granting of the Town's Charter. The construction was rather crude; the turf was removed and the space filled with lumps of chalk, with the horse scoured every year. Since the Marlborough white horse has been built, it has been restored to its former brilliance multiple times. When the horse was first built, maintenance work was done on it every year to keep it in good condition.

However, following the death of Mr Gresley in 1830 the horse was neglected, with only two legs and no eye, until 1873 when a former pupil, Captain Reed, organised the repair of the horse. This must have been the time when the horse gained an eye and two more legs, and the figure also became more defined and a better representation of the original horse.

The next time we can be sure that the horse was restored was 15-20 years ago by the Marlborough scouts, and since then a new restoration project for Marlborough’s white horse was launched last year by Marlborough College.

This white horse is still very important to Marlborough, as it keeps the history of both the town and the school alive and is an iconic symbol to represent Marlborough, being one of the eight Wiltshire white horses. The white horse is even mentioned in the Marlborough College school hymn where it says “Ah, then we'll cry, thank God, my lads, the Kennett's running still, and see, the old White Horse still pads up there on Granham Hill.”

Talitha S (Sh)