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126 KIPLING'S SUSSEX
near Honfleur, a Norman house which shared largely in the spoils of the Conquest. Some of these Alien Priories eventually became nearly independent; that is, bound to remit only a portion of their revenues to the foreign house, whilst others remained throughout their existence wholly under control in almost every matter. Wilmington was one of the latter class. All the Alien Priories were suppressed in the reign of Henry V.
Close by is the Long Man of Wilmington, a rudely excavated gigantic figure of a man, eighty yards in height, cut in the face of the hill. The figure reclines on its back with arms extended upwards, and there is in each hand, parallel to the body, a long staff or, according to Sir W. Burrell, a rake and hoe respectively.
The figure of the " Giant " recalls Kipling's lines :
" I will go out against the sun Where the rolled scarp retires, And the Long Man of Wilmington Looks naked toward the shires."
There is little known about the Long Man, and when it was designed is a mystery. Some say it was a memorial made by the monks from the |
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