Wye Crown

"Much of my childhood was spent flying radio controlled gliders above the Wye Crown"

This renowned hill figure was originally formed by hacking through the green turf to reveal the white chalk underneath that lies beneath it.

The Wye Crown was first cut in 1902 by students from Wye Agricultural College working under the guidance of the Vice Principal T.J. Young.

Young copied a drawing of a crown from a florin (a coin worth two shillings, or 10p in modern money) and stuck it on his theodolite. He then got students carrying flags to climb the hill and peered through his theodolite so that he could direct them to place the flags so that they marked out the shape of the crown. Once the flags were in place, the students turned out en-mass and completed the cutting of the figure in just four days.

The figure was cut to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII. On the night of the coronation the crown was illuminated by 1500 fairy lamps, a celebration that was repeated in 1935 for the silver jubilee of Edward’s son King George V.

During World War II the Wye Crown was covered up by having heaps of brushwood piled over it. The move was prompted by the fear that German bomber pilots would use the hill figure as an aid to navigation: it would certainly stand out clearly when seen from the air on moonlit nights.

The Wye Crown is still kept in good condition by the current students and is enjoyed by both locals and visitors who come to the site to enjoy the views from the top.