Deep
in the very heart of 'crop circle country' (!), a microcosm of
Wiltshire history for you in one photo – this is Cherhill Down, off
the A4 between Calne & Avebury. The oldest feature here is
Oldbury Castle Iron Age hillfort (between the horse and tower, but
not really visible), which is c.4,500 years old (older Bronze Age
dikes dated c.5,000 are also on the hilltop). The figure of the horse
(the Cherhill White House – a pub in the village below is called
the Black Horse, ha-ha!!) dates to 1780. It was turfed over in WW2
(to confound Jerry, what!) but restored to its current state in 2002.
The
tower is the Lansdowne Monument and dates to 1845. Currently sealed
off from the public for safety reasons, the tower was designed by Sir
Charles Barry and built by the Third Marquis of Lansdowne in memory
of his ancestor, Sir William Petty, physician and surveyor, 1627-84.
The
hill is the highest point (258m) on the old A4 coach road between
Bristol and London. The site has been owned by the National Trust
since 1979, and is part of the North Wessex Downs AONB, an area of
fabulous rolling chalk countryside.
All
of this history overlooks the disused RAF Yatesbury to the north, now
clearly the scene of construction work, hence me not revisiting
today! Nearby too, is the 6,000-year-old Avebury Stone Circle and
Avenue (plus the disused 1961-built Avebury ROC post, the reason for
my visit), let alone the amazing Silbury Hill!
Close
up photos of the horse and tower on request.
No comments:
Post a Comment