Holding in Company

Smith WH PLC
23 November 2000

                  DEALINGS BY SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDERS


1)   NAME OF COMPANY

WH SMITH PLC

2)   NAME OF SHAREHOLDER HAVING A MAJOR INTEREST

EDWARD C JOHNSON 3RD
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDER OF FMR CORP. AND 
FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

3)   Please state whether notification indicates that it is in respect of 
     holding of the Shareholder named in 2 above or in respect of a 
     non-beneficial interest or in the case of an individual holder if it is a
     holding of that person's spouse or children under the age of 18

SEE BELOW LETTER DATED 20 NOVEMBER 2000

4)   Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the 
     number of shares held by each of them.

SEE BELOW LETTER DATED 20 NOVEMBER 2000

5)   Number of shares/amount of stock acquired.

N/A

6)   ( N/A %) of issued Class

7)   Number of shares/amount of stock disposed

N/A

8)   ( N/A %) of issued Class

9)   Class of security

ORDINARY SHARES OF 55 5/9 PENCE EACH

10)  Date of transaction

N/A

11)  Date company informed

23 NOVEMBER 2000

12)  Total holding following this notification

10,338,159
               
              
13)  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification

4.12%

14)  Any additional information



15)  Name of contact and telephone number for queries

C A WHITE [phone]

16)  Name and signature of authorised company official responsible for 
     making this notification

     Date of Notification 23 NOVEMBER 2000.........


Letter to Smith (WH) Plc dated 20 November 2000

Below are amended notifications of disclosable interests under the U.K.
Companies Act 1985.  Please note that while this information details the
disclosable interests of more than one entity, the below disclosure constitutes
separate notifications of interest which have been combined solely for purposes
of clarity and efficiency.  It is not intended to indicate that any of these
entities act as a group or in concert with respect to these interests.

These disclosures are made in the interest of conformity with the Companies Act.
The Interest detailed herein was acquired solely for investment purposes. For
disclosure purposes, holdings should be represented as FMR Corp. and its direct
and indirect subsidiaries, and Fidelity International Limited (FIL) and its
direct and indirect subsidiaries, both being non-beneficial holders.

If you have any questions please contact Patricia Bolen at [phone] or by
FAX at [phone].

Letter from Fidelity Investments



NOTIFICATIONS UNDER SECTIONS 198 TO 202 -- UK COMPANIES ACT

1. Company in which shares are held:      SMITH (WH) PLC

2. Notifiable Interest:     ORDINARY SHARES

     A     FMR Corp
           82 Devonshire Street
           Boston, MA 02109

           Parent holding company of Fidelity Management & Research Company 
           (FMRCO), investment manager for US mutual funds, and Fidelity
           Management Trust Company (FMTC),  a US state chartered bank which    
           acts as a trustee or investment manager of various pension and 
           trust accounts. (See Schedule A for listing of Registered            
           Shareholders and their holdings.)

     B     Fidelity International Limited (FIL)
           P.O. BOX HM 670
           Hamilton HMCX, Bermuda

           Parent holding company for various direct and indirect subsidiaries,
           including Fidelity Investment Services Ltd (FISL) and Fidelity 
           Pension Management (FPM), investment managers for various non-US     
           investment companies and institutional clients. (See Schedule A for  
           listing of Registered Shareholders and their holdings).

3.         The notifiable interests also comprise the notifiable interest of

           Mr Edward C Johnson 3d
           82 Devonshire Street
           Boston, MA 02109

           Principal shareholder of FMR Corp. and Fidelity International        
           Limited.

4.     The notifiable interests include interest held on behalf of authorized
       unit trust schemes in the U.K. notwithstanding the exemption from 
       reporting pursuant to Section 209 (1) (e) of the Companies Act 1985.

5.     These notifications of disclosable interests constitute separate
       notifications of interest in the shares and are combined solely for 
       the purposes of clarity. Nothing herein should be taken to indicate 
       that FMR Corp. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, 
       Fidelity International Limited and its direct and indirect subsidiaries
       or Mr Edward C Johnson 3d act as a group or in concert in respect of 
       the disclosed interests, or that they are required to submit these 
       notifications on a joint basis.

6.     The disclosable interests arise under section 208(4) (b) of the Act,
       namely where a person, not being the registered holder, is entitled
       to exercise a right conferred by the holding of the shares or to 
       control the exercise of such rights, or under section 203 of the Act
       respectively.

SCHEDULE A

SECURITY: SMITH (W H) PLC                                  Amendment No 1


                 SHARES HELD  MANAGEMENT   NOMINEE/REGISTERED NAME
                              COMPANY     

(Ordinary Shares)
                 1,207,100     FMRCO     Chase Nominees Limited
                    67,400     FMRCO     State Street Nominees Limited          
                    40,000     FMTC      State Street Nominees Ltd.
                   325,600     FMTC      Lloyds Bank Nominees Limited
                    46,900     FMTC      Bank of New York - Europe
                    29,902     FMTC      Nortrust Nominees
                 5,251,777     FISL      Clydesdale Bank (Head Office) Nominees
                                         Limited
                    42,500     FPM       Gracechurch Nominees
                    64,950     FPM       RBS Trust Bank
                    52,300     FPM       Bank of New York Europe
                    63,160     FPM       Nortrust Nominees Ltd
                    96,400     FPM       BT Globenet Nominees Ltd
                    26,300     FPM       MSS Nominees Ltd
                   108,000     FPM       Chase Nominees Ltd
                   293,500     FPM       RBS Trust Bank
                    61,190     FPM       Citibank
                    20,900     FIL       Chase Nominees Ltd
                   669,399     FIL       RBS Trust Bank
                   149,400     FIL       Clydesdale Bank (Head Office) Nominees
                                         Limited
                    28,600     FIL       Chase Nominees Ltd
                   232,134     FIL       Nortrust Nominees Ltd
                   136,200     FIL       Morgan Stanley
                   142,100     FIL       NAB - Australia
                    95,560     FIL       Bankers Trust
                   345,800     FIL       Northern Trust
                    73,187     FIL       Citibank
                    18,100     FIL       State Street Bank & Trust
                    10,000     FIL       Credit Suisse
                   105,700     FIL       Bank of New York Europe
                     7,100     FIL       National Australia Bank
                   227,000     FIL       MSS Nominees Ltd
                   300,000     FIL       HSBC, London


TOTAL ORDINARY SHARES:    10,338,159

CURRENT OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE:  4.12%

SHARES IN ISSUE:         250,851,492