Reasons for Designation
Constructed by either stripping the turf to expose the bedrock beneath, or by
cutting bedding trenches and packing them with chalk rubble, hill figures are
an extremely rare phenomenon nationally with only 40 or so identified, most
of which are to be found on the chalk downs of southern England.
Archaeological opinion is divided as to the date of the earliest examples,
some of which may have their origins in the late prehistoric or Romano-British
period. However, most appear to belong to the post-medieval period, of which
those from the 20th century are by far the most numerous with 26 examples
recorded nationally. With the exception of one figure cut as an advertisement,
the remainder of 20th century hill figures appear to have been cut for
commemorative purposes, with a significant proportion dating to World War I
and intended to record the presence of military units in specific localities.
The 19 badges and motifs either visible today as surface features or
surviving as buried deposits on Fovant, Compton and Sutton Downs represent by
far the largest and most complete group of hill figures in England. They are
prominent features in the landscape and along with the military graves in
nearby churchyards are a visible record of the importance of the area during
World War I. Their significance is further enhanced by their association
with a number of regiments or units which were either subsequently disbanded,
or whose members left Fovant to fight in some of the most bloody battles of
World War I.
Details
The monument includes a series of chalk badges cut into the northern slopes of
Fovant Down overlooking the Shaftesbury to Salisbury road and the village of
Fovant.
The badges, nine of which are readily visible today, were begun by troops
stationed in and around Fovant during World War I. They were constructed by
excavating a series of shallow bedding trenches into which clean chalk rubble
was inserted and compressed into place. The first badge believed to have been
cut was that of the London Rifle Brigade in 1916, the 5th Battalion of which
is known to have been undergoing training at Fovant between January and May of
that year. The badges of the 6th City of London Battalion, the London
Regiment, colloquially known as the `Cast-iron Sixth' and the 8th City of
London Battalion, the London Regiment (Post Office Rifles) were also cut
around this time. In addition, documentary sources also suggest that the
badges of the 9th County of London Battalion, the London Regiment (Queen
Victoria's Rifles) and the Army Service Corps may also have been cut, although
neither are now visible.
Initially present during August 1916 and March 1917, soldiers belonging to the
Australian Imperial Force, Australia's expeditionary force, took over many of
the camps around Fovant from October 1917 until after the Armistice, when the
camps were used as dispersal centres. During their time at Fovant the
Australians cut the so-called `Rising Sun', the General Service badge adopted
by the Australian Commonwealth Military Forces from 1911 onwards. Two further
badges known to have been cut on Fovant Down during World War I which are
still visible today are those of the Devonshire Regiment and the Young Men's
Christian Association.
By the outbreak of World War II some badges had deteriorated almost to the
point of invisibility and deliberate efforts were made during the war to
camouflage those remaining to prevent them being used by the Luftwaffe for
navigational purposes. Between 1948 and 1951 members of the Fovant Home Guard
Old Comrades Association carried out a restoration of some of the badges, and
to commemorate their own service cut the badges of the Wiltshire Regiment
(which had been their parent body during World War II) and the Royal Wiltshire
Yeomanry. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry badge was placed in an area formerly
occupied by that of the Royal Army Medical Corps which documentary sources
show was still visible up to World War II. During the period 1969 to 1970 the
badge of the Royal Corps of Signals was cut to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the Corp's foundation. Both the Royal Corps of Signals and the
Wiltshire Regiment badges were cut in the vicinity of the area formerly
occupied by a Kangaroo motif, again still visible prior to World War II. The
same documentary source records that at least three further badges or motifs
were visible on Fovant Down prior to World War II, including a drum with the
word `drum', a vague shape with four initial letters, and a device which
appeared originally to have included a circle. Of this latter group, only the
circle is now apparent, and is situated immediately south west of the
Devonshire Regiment badge.
A further series of contemporary badges and motifs on Compton and Sutton Downs
are the subject of separate schedulings.
All fences are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them
is included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
