Villages of the White Horse

Villages of the White Horse is an account of the area known as the 'Vale of the White Horse' during the early years of the twentieth century. Close to the where the counties of Berkshire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire meet, it is named after the vast, ancient picture of a horse which was hacked out of a chalk hill near to the village of Uffington. Alfred Williams describes the villages in this area through the people who lived in them, ubiquitous rural characters such as the carter, the woodman, the cowman and the innkeeper. He recounts the stories that they told him, preserving the authentic dialect of the area, and the local traditions and customs which the villagers had carried on for generations. As well as this, Williams describes the landscape and architecture of the Vale, the chalk downs, the remains of ancient British and Roman settlements, and the churches and inns, with knowledge and affection.