Gleaming on a green hillside above the Cuckmere Valley, a few miles from Eastbourne, a white horse prances across the Downs. The Litlington White Horse is one of only two chalk hill figures left in Sussex — and unlike its mysterious neighbour, the Long Man of Wilmington, we know exactly how this one was made: secretly, by three local men, in a single moonlit night. Here’s its charming story.
The horse on the hill
The Litlington White Horse gallops across the steep western flank of Hindover Hill — locally called High-and-Over — gazing out over the meandering River Cuckmere between Alfriston and Seaford. At around 93 feet long, it’s a small, spirited figure compared with England’s ancient chalk horses, but it holds a special place: together with the Long Man of Wilmington just across the valley, it’s one of only two surviving hill figures in the whole of Sussex, and one of very few English chalk horses found outside Wiltshire.
The first horse of 1838
Today’s horse is actually the second on the hill. The original is generally said to have been cut around 1838 by James Pagden, son of the tenant farmer at nearby Frog Firle Farm, helped by his brothers and a young cousin, William Ade — created, so the story goes, to celebrate the coronation of Queen Victoria. That first horse stood in a more traditional, static pose. But hill figures need constant “scouring” to keep the turf from swallowing them, and the original wasn’t well maintained: by the early 1910s grass had covered it almost completely, and it faded from the hillside altogether.
Cut in a single moonlit night
Then came one of the loveliest episodes in Sussex folklore — except this one is true. In February 1924, a local farmer named John T. Ade — a descendant of William Ade, who had helped cut the original — decided to bring the horse back. With two friends, Eric Hobbis and Stephen Bovis, he climbed Hindover Hill by the light of a full moon and cut a brand-new white horse into the slope in a single night, working roughly from dusk to dawn on a fearsomely steep 45-degree incline. They did it without permission — and the story goes that villagers below woke the next morning astonished to find a great horse prancing on the hill that hadn’t been there the day before.
Did you know? During the Second World War the horse was deliberately covered over, so that German aircraft couldn’t use the bright chalk figure as a navigation landmark — exactly as happened to the Long Man of Wilmington nearby.
Legends and lost figures
Like any good hill, High-and-Over has gathered its share of stories — all firmly in the “just for fun” category. Local legend claims the horse was cut as a memorial to a young woman thrown to her death when her mount bolted along the brow of the hill; another tale says it began as a boy’s tribute to a beloved dog. Older folklore is even richer: elderly residents in the 1860s recalled the hill once bearing a giant figure — nicknamed “Eve”, a female counterpart to the Long Man’s “Adam” across the valley — and even a great chalk cross. None of these lost figures has ever been proven, and there’s no hard evidence for them, but they add to the hill’s air of mystery.
The horse itself has changed a little over the years. Post-war repairs and 1980s conservation work by the county council shifted it into its lively “prancing” stance and added timber edging — a clever fix, because on such a steep slope rainwater running down the legs was steadily distorting the figure. Since 1991 it has been owned and lovingly scoured by the National Trust and local volunteers (who, in 2017, had to quietly remove a unicorn horn some joker had added overnight).
Seeing the white horse
The Litlington White Horse is a free and easy thing to seek out on a day in the Cuckmere country. There’s a car park at the top of Hindover Hill on the Alfriston Road, with a short footpath down towards the figure — but, as with any hill figure, the very best view is from a distance: walk south along the banks of the Cuckmere from Litlington village and the whole prancing horse reveals itself across the valley. It combines beautifully with a visit to pretty Alfriston, a wander through Friston Forest, or the walk down to Cuckmere Haven and the Seven Sisters.
The Litlington White Horse: FAQs
How old is the Litlington White Horse?
The horse you see today was cut in 1924, but it replaced an earlier one on the same hill thought to date from around 1838, made to mark Queen Victoria’s coronation.
Who made the Litlington White Horse?
The 1924 horse was cut in a single night by local farmer John T. Ade and two friends, Eric Hobbis and Stephen Bovis. Ade was a descendant of one of the men who cut the original 1838 figure.
Where is the best place to see it?
From across the valley — walking south along the River Cuckmere from Litlington village gives the finest view. There’s also a car park at High and Over on the Alfriston Road with a footpath towards the figure.
Is it related to the Long Man of Wilmington?
Only in that they’re the two surviving Sussex hill figures, facing each other across the Cuckmere country. The Long Man is far older and more mysterious; the Litlington horse’s modern origins are well documented.
Explore more Cuckmere country: the mysterious Long Man of Wilmington, pretty Alfriston, and the walk to Cuckmere Haven.