Mormond White Horse

The Mormond White Horse is a remarkable landmark on the southern slopes of Waughton Hill (which represents the western summit of Mormond Hill) in Buchan. Comprising white quartzite boulders set into trenches that were cut into the turf of the hillside at a height of 185m (607 feet), the horse measures 50m (164 feet) from nose to tail, and 41m (135 feet) from head to hoof. It represents a memorial to Sergeant James Hutcheon of New Pitsligo created 1820-21 on the instructions by local landowner Captain Fraser, Lord Lovat of Strichen, by his tenants. It emulates the prehistoric horse monument in the Chiltern Hills of England.

When Fraser had his horse shot from under him during an encounter with the French in the Netherlands in August 1794, Hutcheon gave his own mount to his vulnerable captain. However Hutcheon was killed before he could find a loose horse for himself. It is said the Horse was obscured during World War II to prevent its use as a landmark by German bombers.

The horse is accessible by a footpath. A similar monument, the Mormond Stag, lies 1½ miles (2.4 km) to the east.


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