80 



On the White Horses of Wiltshire. 



viz.: from the croup to the chest, 84 feet; from the shoulders 

 to the ears, 14 feet ; from the ear to the nose, 7 feet 6 inches ; 

 and from the shoulder to the ground, 16 feet, or 57 hands. It 

 is generally supposed this figure was designed in commemoration 

 of the decided and undaunted conduct of Richard Nevile, then Earl 

 of Warwick, at the battle of Touton, [otherwise called Towton.] 

 The army being on that day placed in circumstances of extreme peril, 

 the Earl in a spirited and praiseworthy manner directed his horse to 

 be brought to him, and after looking at him, kissed the hilt of his 

 sword, and immediately plunged it deep in the noble animal's chest, 

 gallantly vowing to share the danger of the battle he was then en- 

 gaged in on equal terms with the meanest soldier. This noble 

 speech and action made a deep impression on the minds of the army, 

 and no doubt was a great stimulus in the contest, which ended with 

 a glorious victory on his side. The battle of Touton was fought 

 on Palm Sunday, 1461. From that period to the present time this 

 battle has always been commemorated on Palm Sunday, by the in- 

 habitants of the village assembling in rustic festivity for the purpose 

 of what is called scouring the figure of the Red Horse, or clearing 

 it from the incumbrances of the vegetation produced by the past 

 year, which event is generally commemorated with much mirth, and 

 many of the neighbouring gentry attend on this day to witness the 

 scene. There are certain lands in the Lordship of Tysoe, which are 

 held by the service of maintaining this ancient custom/" — p. 74, 

 sub " Chadshunt." 



Besides the figures of horses which I have now described, there 

 are several other white figures incised in the turf, to be met with 

 in different parts of the county, such as the Giant on Trendle Hill, 

 near Cerne Abbas, in Dorsetshire, (see Hutchings's Dorset, vol. iii., 

 p. 321,) the Effigy stated by Aubrey to have existed before the Civil 

 Wars, on Shotover Hill, near Oxford; the White Cross at White- 

 leaf, in Buckinghamshire, &c, as well as the well-known figure of 

 King George III., on horseback, near Weymouth. But to enter at 

 all upon the subject of these would be foreign to the purpose of the 

 present paper. 



