Two Old Inns in the Vale of White Horse 
an afterthought. 
Stoop down over 
the low fire in the 
parlor, and, with a 
turn of the head, 
look up the wide 
chimney. The blue 
sky can easily be 
seen out at the top, 
which is not so many 
feet away. 
After leaving the 
“Craven” to pay 
your visit to the 
White Horse 
1 n n, you will pass 
Uffington Church, a 
curious and most in¬ 
teresting specimen 
o f E a r 1 y English 
architecture, found¬ 
ed by Facitius, Ab¬ 
bot of Abingdon, in 
1105. The octagonal 
shaped tower, rising from the center of the 
cruciform plan, looks oddly ineffective as the 
crowning feature of a very handsome build¬ 
ing. As a matter of fact at one time a spire 
rose from the lofty tower arches ; but in the 
year 1750 it was destroyed by lightning 
during a great storm. A feature of the 
church, said to be unique, is the square fin¬ 
ish to the heads of the windows on the south 
side of the north transept. It looks ex¬ 
actly as if they had been cut short by the 
slope of the roof.' The curious will find 
much to interest them in the monuments to 
the Saunders family, which occupy various 
niches in the church. The White Horse 
Inn will be found on the left a little way 
along the high road. Here, again, many 
changes have taken place, much of the old 
work having given place to new. Inside are 
old oak trestle-tables and high forms with 
back rails and arms. Take a few minutes 
rest on the settle by the chimney corner. 
Perchance you may fall into conversation 
2 Mr. J. H. Parker, the great authority on Gothic architecture, 
says this peculiar construction is probably original. 
with an old Berk¬ 
shire laborer, in 
blue smocked frock, 
knee breeches and 
leggings. He will 
tell you many an 
anecdote of days 
when he was an 
“old gamester,” and 
fought for the honor 
of the Vale of White 
Elorse against the 
men of Somerset 
and Devon. The 
fighting took place 
at the annual scour¬ 
ing of the White 
Horse, when, in ad¬ 
dition to the inter¬ 
esting task of clean¬ 
ing the old monu¬ 
ment itself, the 
villagers for miles 
around took part in 
games and rustic contests. These sports 
have not been held for many years. The 
competitions were not always of a highly 
edifying nature. On one occasion, at least, 
a gallon of gin was given as a prize to the 
woman who could smoke the most tobacco 
in an hour. 
“ The Old White Horse wants zettin to rights. 
And the Squire hev promised good cheer ; 
Zo we’ll gee un a scrape to kip un in zhape, 
And a’11 last for many a year.” 
“ There’ll be backsword play, and climmin the powl, 
And a race for a peg and a cheese. ’ ’ 
At the present time the White Horse on 
the hillside stands in sad need of cleaning 
and scouring. There is a statue in the mar¬ 
ket place of Wantage, six miles away, erected 
to the memory of Alfred the Great, who was 
born in the town. The older monument of 
our article, however, will always remain the 
most interesting relic of the mighty Saxon 
chief, and another Thomas Hughes is wanted 
to arouse the neighborhood to a sense of its 
responsibility in keeping in repair the unique 
and ancient landmark. 
THE WHITE HORSE INN 
94 
