English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

White Horse Hill

Early-attested site in the Parish of Uffington

Historical Forms

  • mons ubi ad album equum scanditur, locus qui uulgo mons albi equi nuncupatur a.1170 ClaudiusCix c.1200
  • Whytehorse 1322 Ipm

Etymology

White Horse Hill, mons ubi ad album equum scanditur , locus qui uulgo mons albi equi nuncupatur a. 1170 (c. 1200) ClaudiusCix , Whytehorse 1322 Ipm. The surname of Stephanus de Blanc Cheval , mentioned 1221 Cur, may be derived from here. Birch quotes the reference in Abingdon to Speresholt juxta locum qui vulgo mons albi equi nuncupatur in a footnote to BCS 1121, but it probably goes back only to the date of the MS, not to that of the charter. For a description and discussion of the famous turf figure v. Diana Woolner, 'New Light on the White Horse', Folklore 78 (Summer 1967).