Osmington White Horse in finals of English Heritage award

The Osmington White Horse near Weymouth has reached the finals of the annual English Heritage Angel Awards – a project to celebrate the efforts of local people who have saved historic buildings and places.

It been chosen as one of five finalists in the category ‘The Best Rescue of Any Other Type of Historic Building or Site’.

The 85 metre long white horse was sculpted into Osmington Hill in 1808 and depicts King George III riding his horse.

After falling into disrepair, the sculpture needed restoration and in 2009 a project was started to save it.

The restoration wasn’t easy because the white horse it in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the slopes of the hill are very steep. Volunteers contributed over 8,000 hours of work.

On completion of the project (which involved the creation of an informative off-road viewing point), HRH The Princess Royal was invited to view the work and unveil a plaque.

The four projects it is up against are:

• The Remembering Flodden Project for Flodden Battlefield, Branxton, Northumberland
• Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust for Great Yarmouth Cemeteries, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
• Ivy House Community Pub Limited for The Ivy House Public House, Southwark, London
• Caroline and Niall Hardie-Hammond for Scargill Castle, Barnard Castle, Durham

Andrew Lloyd Webber who founded the awards will help judge the finalists and Winners will receive their awards at a glittering ceremony in London on 21st October 2013.

To vote for the Osmington White Horse project visit http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/angel-awards/vote2013/

The deadline for voting is midnight on Sunday 8th September