{{Short description|River in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, England}} {{distinguish|text=Smite River in New Zealand}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}} {{Use British English|date=January 2018}} {{Infobox river |name = River Smite |name_native = |name_native_lang = |name_other = |name_etymology = <!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP --> |image = River Smite near Shelton - geograph.org.uk - 237155.jpg |image_size = |image_caption = Smite near Shelton |map = |map_size = |map_caption = |pushpin_map = Nottinghamshire |pushpin_map_size = |pushpin_map_caption= Mouth of the Smite in Nottinghamshire <!---------------------- LOCATION --> |subdivision_type1 = Country |subdivision_name1 = England |subdivision_type2 = |subdivision_name2 = |subdivision_type3 = Counties |subdivision_name3 = Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire |subdivision_type4 = |subdivision_name4 = |subdivision_type5 = |subdivision_name5 = <!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS --> |length = {{convert|32|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name=WFD>{{Cite web |url=http://data.gov.uk/dataset/wfd-surface-water-classification-status-and-objectives |title=WFD Surface Water Classification Status and Objectives 2012 csv files |publisher=Environment-agency.gov.uk |access-date=20 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224035512/http://data.gov.uk/dataset/wfd-surface-water-classification-status-and-objectives |archive-date=24 February 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> |width_min = |width_avg = |width_max = |depth_min = |depth_avg = |depth_max = |discharge1_location= |discharge1_min = |discharge1_avg = |discharge1_max = <!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES --> |source1 = |source1_location = Holwell, Leicestershire |source1_coordinates= |source1_elevation = |mouth = |mouth_location = Shelton, Nottinghamshire |mouth_coordinates = {{coord|52.9972|-0.8235|display=inline,title}} |mouth_elevation = |progression = |river_system = |basin_size = {{convert|193|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name=WFD /> |tributaries_left = |tributaries_right = |custom_label = |custom_data = |extra = Progression : Smite—Devon—Trent—Humber }}
The '''River Smite''', a tributary of the River Devon, flows for {{convert|20|mi|km}} through Leicestershire and south-east Nottinghamshire, England. The source is near the hamlet of Holwell, Leicestershire and it joins the Devon near Shelton, Nottinghamshire. The Smite and its tributaries, such as the '''River Whipling''', the Stroom Dyke, and the Dalby Brook, drain an area of {{convert|193|km2|mi2}} of farmland in the Vale of Belvoir.
==Name== In the 17th century the river was known as the Snite. This and the modern spelling are thought to derive from the Old English ''smita'', denoting a foul or miry place. This links with another Old English word ''smitan'', which means to daub or pollute. It implies that the Smite was a dirty, miry stream.<ref name=smitename>{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=iCzE3QAPvO4C&pg=PA124 |title=The Place-Names of Nottinghamshire: Their Origin and Development |first=Heinrich |last=Mutschmann |year=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107665415 |pages=124}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/monographs/young1942/chapter2.htm |work=Nottinghamshire History |title=A History of Colston Bassett (1942) |publisher=nottshistory.org.uk |access-date=20 June 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223405/http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/monographs/young1942/chapter2.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Sources== The river draws from several springs near Holwell, along a spring line where the local permeable ironstone meets the lower mudstones on the flank of the Bleak Hills, which form part of the Belvoir Ridge. However, the source of the Smite is also attributed to another spring 1 km to the north called Holwell Mouth, a chalybeate or mineral spring in a wooded ravine to the north of Holwell. The spring is now disused, but in the 17th and 18th centuries was thought to have healing properties and had stone seating for those taking the waters. It contains iron salts that give it a reddish colour and ostensibly a sulphurous taste. The name Holwell, of Saxon origin, means "spring or stream in a hollow".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/geologycounties00harrgoog |title=Geology of the counties of England and of North and South Wales |first=William |last=Harrison |year=1882|publisher=Kelly |pages=https://archive.org/details/geologycounties00harrgoog/page/n200 157]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cms.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/environment/landimprovements/landscapecharacter/countrysideappraisal/countrysideappraisal-chaptertwelve.htm |work=Countryside Appraisal |title=Vale of Belvoir – Section 1 |publisher=Nottinghamshire County Council |access-date=14 November 2014 |archive-date=18 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140918123806/http://cms.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/environment/landimprovements/landscapecharacter/countrysideappraisal/countrysideappraisal-chaptertwelve.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=mega>{{Cite web |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=10231 |work=The Megalithic Portal |title=Holwell Mouth |publisher=megalithic.co.uk |access-date=14 May 2014}}</ref><ref name=holwell>{{Cite book |author=David Mills |title=A Dictionary of British Place-Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tXucAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA244 |date=20 October 2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-960908-6|pages=244–}}</ref>
==Course== Various tributaries that descend from the Bleak Hills join the Smite as it flows in a north-westerly direction, before turning north-east at the bottom of the escarpment, into the lower-lying Vale of Belvoir. It is spanned by an aqueduct of the Grantham Canal, then continues in a north-westerly direction to meet Dalby Brook. This tributary drains the south-west of the catchment, rising near Old Dalby, then flowing between Upper and Nether Broughton and past Hickling to the junction with the Smite. Beyond this confluence the river flows through Colston Bassett and beside Wiverton Hall, where it is joined by the Stroom Dyke. It continues through farmland, until it reaches the A52, where it passes between the villages of Whatton-in-the-Vale and Aslockton. It is joined by the River Whipling as it flows past the remains of the motte and bailey of Aslockton Castle. The river continues north-east, beside the villages of Orston, Thoroton, Flawborough and Shelton, where it meets the River Devon.<ref name=smitemap>{{Cite web |url=http://maps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiybyController?x=357683.0&y=355134.0&scale=1&layerGroups=default&ep=map&textonly=off&lang=_e&topic=wfd_rivers#x=470363&y=331341&lg=1,7,8,9,5,6,&scale=6 |work=What's in your Backyard |publisher=Environment Agency |title=Water Framework Directive - River Basin Management Plans |access-date=14 November 2014 |archive-date=30 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330085716/http://maps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiybyController?x=357683.0&y=355134.0&scale=1&layerGroups=default&ep=map&textonly=off&lang=_e&topic=wfd_rivers#x=470363&y=331341&lg=1,7,8,9,5,6,&scale=6 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==River Whipling== thumb|left|{{center|The Grimmer and the Rundle Beck, join to form the Whipling}} The River Whipling is the main tributary of the Smite and {{convert|6|mi|km}} long. Its source is the confluence of two tributaries, the Rundle Beck and the Grimmer, which meet near Granby. The Whipling then flows around the village, before taking a north-easterly course to join the Smite near Whatton.
The Whipling and tributaries drain some {{convert|52|km2|mi2}} of the Vale of Belvoir, contributing about a quarter of the Smite's catchment area.<ref name=WFD/><ref name=smitemap/><ref name=smitetext>{{Cite web |url=http://maps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiybyController?topic=wfd_rivers&ep=query&lang=_e&x=476070.56724802667&y=335480.7001291911&scale=8&layerGroups=1&textonly=off&latest=true |work=What's in your Backyard |publisher=Environment Agency |title=Water Framework Directive - River Basin Management Plans |access-date=14 November 2014 |archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129041816/http://maps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiybyController?topic=wfd_rivers&ep=query&lang=_e&x=476070.56724802667&y=335480.7001291911&scale=8&layerGroups=1&textonly=off&latest=true |url-status=dead }}</ref> {{clear}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{Rivers and watercourses of Nottinghamshire}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smite}} Category:Rivers of Nottinghamshire Category:Rivers of Leicestershire 2Smite