The White Horse at Kilburn

Here in England, we’ve got a bit of a thing about images of a white horse cut into the hillside.  There are well over 20 of them, from the South Downs to Wiltshire, via Leicestershire and even as far north as Tyneside.  We like to think many of them are pretty ancient, like this one, the Uffington White Horse, first carved into the hillside chalk of Oxfordshire: probably in the Iron Age, possibly as long ago as 800 BC.  But they’re not.  Most of them date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Uffington White Horse (Wikimedia Commons)
Uffington White Horse (Wikimedia Commons)

We’ve got our own white horse here in North Yorkshire, near Kilburn.  It’s really rather modern.  Back in 1857, a Kilburn-born man, Thomas Taylor, who’d become a provision merchant down in London thought that his home village should have its very own version of the Uffington White Horse.  He got John Hodgson, who was the local schoolmaster, together with the schoolchildren and a band of volunteers to cut a horse shape from the turf to reveal the sandstone beneath.  Six tons of lime were used to whiten the image, which can be seen from many vantage points in North Yorkshire, and on a clear day, from as far away as Leeds, 45 miles away, and even North Lincolnshire.

Kilburn White Horse (Wikimedia Commons)
Kilburn White Horse (Wikimedia Commons)

And that’s where we went yesterday for an energetic nine mile walk.  Our path took us along scenic Beacon Banks.  Once it had a beacon at its summit to alert the country when danger threatened.  It warned of the approach of the Spanish Armada in 1588.  It was a watching point for the Home Guard during World War II.  Now it’s simply a lovely place from which to survey the countryside. Our route took us past three of the prettiest villages in this part of the world – Coxwold, Husthwaite and Kilburn – through woodland, through farmland with views across to the Vale of York, the Hambleton Hills and North York Moors, passing ancient Norman churches we couldn’t call into because it was Sunday.   And the White Horse – often there as a backdrop to the scenery. Here are some picture postcards of our day.

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

21 thoughts on “The White Horse at Kilburn”

  1. I remember spotting that White Horse during my master’s year at Leeds. Your walk sounds very energetic indeed! We did a leisurely circular walk of the canal tow path yesterday with guests, but that only took 1 hr 20 mins so couldn’t have been any more than 3 or 4 miles.

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  3. The ancient horses fascinate me, that humans could even envision such things at that time before aerial photographs, etc. And I guess the newer-made horses are a tribute . . . Your walk looks delightful–nine miles is far!

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    1. I know, it’s astonishing, isn’t it? They had to ‘let them go’ during WWII so that enemy planes couldn’t get their bearings from them. Nah – nine miles was a walk in the park 😉 !

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  5. in a somewhat London-centric way, I wondered why I’d never seen a white horse in Kilburn, which is only just up the road…..relieved to find it wasn’t just that I wasn’t paying attention. Now to find Kilburn N. Yorks – it all looks lovely

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  6. Impressive – nine miles! I am always amazed at the ingenuity of man to visualize what is not visible up close but far away. I had never heard of the white horses, very interesting. Enjoy he rest of the week and get get ready for those walls in Korea.

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  7. I have seen a couple of the other white horses but not ‘yours’ yet. Another reason to travel up to Yorkshire. I spent a couple of hours watching the bus ride from Richmond to the Ribblehead Viaduct this evening on BBC4 – lovely! They chose a perfect day for it (it might not have looked so inviting on a cold, wet and windy day in February).
    Lovely postcards!

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