Vale of White Horse being removed to show the white chalky soil beneath. This figure gives name to the hill, the range and the Vale. It is 114 m (374 ft) long and highly stylised, the neck, body and tail varying little in width. The origin of the figure is unknown. Tradition asserted it to be the monument of a victory over the Danes by King Alfred, who was born at Wantage, but the site of the Battle of Ashdown (871 CE), has been variously located. Moreover, the figure has been dated to the Bronze Age, so it pre-dates the battle by many centuries.
Battle of Dunbar (1650) Battle of Dunbar (1650) The Battle of Dunbar occurred on the 3rd September 1650, and is traditionally considered one of the major battles of the Third English Civil War, part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms as the competing claims of the new Commonwealth of England and of Charles II to the throne of England were at stake. The English Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell defeated a Scottish army commanded by David Leslie which was loyal to King Charles II. Charles had been proclaimed King of 'Great Britain', France and Ireland by the Parliament of Scotland on 5 February