Osmington White Horse

Osmington White Horse.

View from the sea in Weymouth Bay of the Osmington White Horse with the Corallian cliffs at Broadrock in the foreground.

The Osmington White Horse is a hill figure sculpted in 1808 into the limestone Osmington hill just north of Weymouth called the South Dorset Downs, within the parish of Osmington.^[1]

The figure is of King George III, who regularly visited Weymouth, and made it 'the first resort', riding on his horse, and can be seen for miles around. It is 280 feet long and 323 feet high in size and is best viewed from the A353 road.

There is a legend that King George was offended that the figure was riding out of Weymouth — a sign that he was not welcome — and never returned.^{[citation needed]}

The television show Challenge Anneka restored the horse in 1989. However, the project was undertaken too quickly and some errors were made.^[2] A project to restore the white horse is underway.^[3]

In August 2011 pranksters added a 'horn' made from plastic sheeting to make the horse resemble a Unicorn.^[4]

The Osmington White Horse is the only figure that is a case of both leucippotomy and gigantotomy

See also

• Chalk figures in the United Kingdom
• Leucippotomy
• Cherhill White Horse
• Westbury White Horse

References

1. ^ Osmington White Horse, UK.
2. ^ Historic White Horse landmark 'ruined by Anneka Rice quick-fix' 20 years ago to be restored, The Daily Mail, 3 September 2009.
3. ^ Press release, The Osmington White Horse Restoration, The Osmington Society, 22 July 2010.
4. ^ Pranksters add horn to Osmington White Horse, Dorset Echo, 30 August 2011.

Bibliography

• Plenderleath, Rev. W. C., The White Horses of the West of England (London: Allen & Storr, 1892).

External links

• Aerial photo of Osmington White Horse. Other map and aerial photo sources.
• The Osmington White Horse Restoration

Coordinates: 50°39′27″N 2°24′16″W / 50.65741°N 2.40438°W / 50.65741; -2.40438