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The boundaries and rivers of the Vale of Belvoir A coloured contours map showing the approximate boundaries of the Vale of Belvoir. It is a lowland area straddling Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire with Belvoir Castle in the south providing the eponymous landmark. The Vale comprises the valleys of two rivers – the Smite (from its source at Holwell) and Devon (which rises just south of Harston). The topography is typically undulating farmland and includes the settlements of Bingham, Bottesford and numerous villages (see Wikipedia for a list). The Vale stretches northwards from the ironstone escarpment – known to outsiders as the 'Belvoir Ridge' and to locals as the 'Harby Hills' – towards the River Trent but only as far as the Roman Fosse Way (A46) in the west and north-west. In the east the boundary is the watershed between the Devon and Witham; this interfluve also forms the Leicestershire-Lincolnshire boundary. About a month after I had written the previous paragraph I read Michael Honeybone's 1987 book called The Vale of Belvoir. I was pleased to see that he also regards the Fosse Way as the western boundary. He also suggests that the northern boundary was marked by Long Hedge Lane as this was the boundary of the Bingham Wapentake. This makes Flintham the most northerly parish in the Vale. However later in his book Honeybone quite rightly discusses Sibthorpe and Shelton as part of the Vale, contradicting his own boundary. The boundary of Bingham Wapentake almost certainly was created ex novo in AD 950 as Newark, the wapentake to the north, only begins to exist around this time. Before 950, extending back into the Iron Age or maybe earlier, the Vale would have been thought of as extending to the confluence of the Devon with the Trent. I'll be the first admit that villages closest to the Trent – Flintham, Elston, Sibthorpe, Cotham, Hawton, etc – have a topography that 'feels' much more like Trent valley settlements. The terrain is flat with none of the rolling hills which are characteristic of most of the Vale. But administrative units, while respecting watersheds, are bounded by distinctive landmarks not 'topographical feelings'. Prehistoric land units were part or all of a valley. The boundaries were at the top of the watersheds between the valleys. In this article I suggest that the Vale of Belvoir has a similar extent to an Iron Age and Roman estate centred on a probable villa between the modern parishes of Harby and Langar. I am well aware that estate agents do not realise that the Vale of Belvoir is defined by watersheds and the Fosse Way so describe properties in adjoining villages as being in the Vale to enhance their appeal and price. I understand their motives but can only agree to differ on the reality. The boundary between Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire does not follow the ironstone ridge. In this article I suggest why this happened, probably around AD 950 or soon after. This map prepared by the English Place-Name Society in the 1940s shows the pre-1974 boundary between Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, highlighted in green. And shows another clear linear boundary, highlighted in pink, where an equal number of parishes form a 'cleaner' demarkation, in part following the former Roman Road known as the Salters Way. While I cannot prove it most likely the pink boundary was the southern extent of the Vale of Belvoir (and Nottinghamshire) until AD 950 or thereabouts. Origins of names of Smite and Devon Devon (pronounced 'dee-vun' or 'dee-ven' not 'dev-on') is probably from Brythonic *dubno- meaning 'deep' as its upper reaches form a deep ravine. This ravine also gives it name to 'Knipton', the farmstead (Old English tun) in a gnipa (Old Scandinavian word for 'narrow, steep-sided valley'). The spelling 'Devon' was adopted in the sixteenth century. Previously it was referred to as the 'Dyvene' or 'Deven'. Yes, the River Devon is cognate with the county name 'Devon' which is derived from the name of a Celtic tribe, the Dumnonii, who inhabited the region during the Iron Age and Roman period. The name 'Dumnonii' seemingly also originates with *dubno-, so meant 'deep valley dwellers'. However the River Devon, flowing through Perthshire, Kinross-shire, and Clackmannanshire, has a different origin. Holwell Mouth, the source of the Smite, photographed in 1989. Note the rusty colour of the stream bed. Barrie Cox in his survey of Leicestershire place-names considers that Smite is probably from Old English smitan 'to slide, to slip, to glide'. 'Smite' evolves into the Modern English word meaning 'to strike'. The River Smite near Orston does indeed seem to be a slow-moving watercourse. However a small weir under the bridge on Smite Lane reveals that the flow is much greater than the 'gliding' appearance of the water suggests. Although unique as a river name in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, 'smite' is quite a common stream-name elsewhere, and gives its name to the villages of Upper and Lower Smite in Warwickshire. The Smite south of Whatton was crossed by Cokerbek Brigge, revealing an earlier name for the Smite because 'coker' might be from the Brythonic word kukro meaning 'crooked' or 'winding' with Old Scandinavian 'beck' meaning 'stream'. Before the course of the Smite was straightened near settlements such as Whatton and Orston the watercourse was indeed decidedly crooked as the relict watercourses are shown on 1880s OS maps for Orston and Whatton. There is a different Cocker Beck draining into the River Trent at Gunthorpe. The 1940s English Place-Name Society map reproduced earlier on this page shows the name 'R. Devon' in Orston parish. In recent centuries this watercourse has been known as the Smite. I'm not aware of any early documents calling the Smite the Devon. Best guess is that the EPNS cartographer slipped up (the Second World War had just started when he was working on this map, so give him some slack). No one seems to have put a date on when the Smite was straightened. As already noted, both the man-modified course and the crooked relict channels which preceeded the modified course all are shown on the 1880s Ordnance Survey maps for Orston and Whatton. Which suggests that the straightening happened earlier in the nineteenth century, but not that long before. For what it's worth, an oral tradition in central Wiltshire holds that drainage ditches and such like were dug by Napoleonic prisoners of war (Alan Latham pers. com. circa 2010). So latest 1815. Or was this something local landowners funded to provide work for farm labourers when there was insufficient labour required on the farms in the lean years of the 1830s and 1840s? Note that the current watercourse of the Smite was modified by Severn Trent during the 1970s or 1980s e.g. by deeping and creating/renewing small weirs. The Smite has a tributary, the River Whippling, which rises south-east of Elton and joins the Smite north-east of Whatton. The origins of the name 'Whippling' have not been ascertained. It certainly does not flow in a whip-like manner. The confluence of the Devon and Smite is near Shelton. Curiously the combined flow is called the Devon even though the Smite is the longer and wider river with the greater catchment area. The Devon flows into the Trent at Farnham – there is now a marina on the opposite bank. Probably no coincidence that the Roman Fosse Way crosses the Devon at this confluence as the gently-sloping banks of the Devon would have made an excellent place to unload flat-bottomed boats whereas the greater flow of the Trent would have needed timber hythes or wharves to be constructed. Newark on Devon? It has been suggested (though I don't know the origin) that in Roman times the River Trent did not branch into two upstream of Averham, so there was no watercourse between 'A' and 'B' until more recent centuries. Instead the River Devon ran all the way to the north of what is now Newark (marked 'C'). Most probably a major flood during the middle Anglo-Saxon era (when the weather was wetter than now) created the channel from 'A' to 'B'. Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. 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Chronicle entries home page what's new? the geology of the Vale the boundaries and rivers of the Vale long, long ago prehistory in the Vale prehistoric boundaries in the Vale north-south prehistoric routeways Romans roads in the Vale Roman settlements in and near the Vale long ago introduction to Anglo-Saxons place-names of the Vale waterborne transport around the sixth century Orston's early church Anglo-Saxon sculpture in the Vale why Orston lost out to Bingham and Bottesford what the Normans did for the Vale Granby's importance in 1086 Granby's lost castle the Vale's watermills in 1086 Romanesque sculpture in the Vale St Remigius why Bottesford is in Leicestershire the Vale in medieval times medieval gargoyles of the Vale Eastwell's chancel screen St Ethelburga's church other early saints Elston's old chapel Muston and Long Clawson saltways of the Vale the Vale's medieval tile collection the Vale in Tudor times Dissolution in the Vale not that long ago the Vale in the C17th the 'great and the good' of the Vale Bottesford's effigies 'wicked practice and sorcerye' the whales on the Whalley memorial Car Colston's bigoted GP cum JP the Vale's very own regicide Wiverton Hall five rare C17th fonts in the Vale pinfolds and pounds in the Vale dovecotes in the Vale the Vale in the C18th turnpiking the Vale gravestones and C18th trade routes goodbye 'Belvoir Angels' C18th gravestone carvers in the Vale Daffy's Elixir the Marquess of Granby Stilton from the Vale springs and spas of the Vale outstanding organs in the Vale Grantham canal changes in the Vale's agriculture since 1800 Eastwell's recusant priest house and chapel Colston Bassett's ruined church seems like yesterday windmills in the Vale stained glass in the Vale village life in the southern Vale 1850 to 1880 folklore of the Vale Flintham museum lacemaking in the Vale gypsum pits in the Vale brick and tile works in the Vale ironstone quarrying in the Vale ironstone railways ironstone quarries of Leicestershire (YouTube video) The Vale's railway stations Orston's famous architect Mothers Union banners of the Vale redundant telephone exchanges in the Vale WWII airfields and pillboxes in the Vale the Vale in 1944 location shooting at Belvoir Castle Screveton's giants researching and writing local history the Vale as a verb getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around the Vale Aslockton (Cranmer LHG) Bingham Heritage Trails Association Bottesford Eastwell Harby Harlaxton Hickling Redmile archive Belvoir Villages History and Memories Group Belvoir Angel Society Grantham Canal Society you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Barrowby Until Now website Rutland Village by Village website Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland