Hickling is located just below the Belvoir Escarpment – steep hills which surround (and define) the Vale of Belvoir. This means that the village sometimes seems to have its own micro-climate; it can be foggy or snowy or wet here but not a few miles down the road (and vice versa). There is no doubt that if rain comes down suddenly or quickly then it streams down from the Hickling Standard hills with immediate impacts in the village itself (even with modern drainage systems). The area is surrounded by small springs (for example, as you descend Bridegate Hill) and, not so long ago, there were natural ponds dotting the surrounding fields. Until well into the nineteenth century, the village was largely inaccessible during the winter months and residents needed to be as self-sufficient as possible.

“The village lied in a miry part of the county and consists of about 70 dwellings; the roads to it are intolerable in the winter. The road from the Fosse to the village is in a right line, very spacious, at the distance of about half a mile. The village, or rather the lanes leading to it, are a labyrinth, the way I entered it. The numerous passages, open to the more numerous inclosures adjoining the village, misguide you: the trees in the hedgerows are lofty, many and meet each other, which made the passages gloomy and miry, and some them almost impassable.”

(Robert Thoroton ‘The Antiquities of Nottinghamshire’ 1790-96 & The Scrapbook of Hickling by Hazel Wadkin)

Flooding.

Two rivers/streams run through the village – the Smite and the Dalby Brook (plus, of course, the canal which overspills into the waterways at the culvert just beyond the Basin). The Smite begins at Holwell Mouth as a series of springs. This is a great place on the right as you approach the top of Clawson hill which was visited in the 17th & 18th centuries because the reddish, ironstone waters were thought to have healing powers. It then flows under the Clawson to Nether Broughton road and then under Clawson Lane half way between Hickling and Clawson where it forms the Notts/Leics border. The Smite then passes under the canal half a mile later and meanders towards Colston Bassett. You can tell by the little old cliffs here that it used to be much bigger. The Dalby Brook originates in the horseshoe of hills between Old Dalby, Upper Broughton and Hickling Pastures. It joins the River Smite (which is now the smaller watercourse) about half a mile before Colston Bassett. Colston Bassett used to have a port! Can you believe that? The Smite then carries on towards Whatton and Aslockton (where it has long flooded heavily) where it is joined by the Whipling and then joins the Devon (which starts near Belvoir)  before joining the Trent at Newark.

“In the 17th century the river was known as the Snite. This and the modern spelling are thought to derive from the Old English word smita, denoting a foul or miry place. This is linked to another Old English word smitan, which means to daub or pollute”

(Mutschmann. CUP)

And:

“Hickling has always been known for flooding. Outside Waterlane Farm, Church Farm, Bridegate Lane corner, Clawson lane where the Dalby brook runs under the road and at the top of Faulks’ Lane were, and indeed still are, the places affected by flooding after continuous rain.

“On August Bank Holiday 1922 the Church and the Chapel flood joined and the water reached the front doorstep of Rose Cottage and the top step of Yew Tree House opposite, the bridge over the brook on Clawson Lane was washed away. A number of houses had water in the downstairs rooms, animals and poultry were drowned. Although the floods have joined a number of times since this was the highest water level anyone can remember.”

(Scrapbook of Hickling by Hazel Wadkin)

Flooding: February 2020

Snow and Ice.

There is no doubt that we no longer have the huge downfalls of snow or the weeks of ice that were characteristic of winters past. Nevertheless, a good downfall of snow brings out the sledges on the Standards and beautiful winter transformations – even if it’s just for a day-or-two. We are looking to build a series of galleries of Hickling in the snow; if you have pictures and anecdotes, please get in touch and we will add them, below:

January 2021:

January 2021 threw everything at Hickling (and the rest of the UK, too): Covid-19, Brexit, floods, Storm Christoff and snow:

Rainbow over Hickling Canal Basin (15/6/24)

Please note: this is a large gallery and may take a little while to load to your screen.

This gallery is from the Wadkin Archives