The River Tas is a river which flows northwards through
South Norfolk
South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. The largest town is Wymondham, and the district also includes the towns of Costessey, Diss, Harleston, Hingham, Loddon and Long Stratton. The council was based in Long S ...
in England - towards
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
. The area is named the Tas Valley after the river. The name of the river is back-formed from the name of village of
Tasburgh.
[E. Ekwall, 1928, ''English-River-names'', p. 393]
Tributaries which have their sources at
Hempnall and
Carleton Rode converge at
Tasburgh. The river then flows on through
Newton Flotman and Smockmill Common. In Shotesham Park the river splits into two channels which rejoin just above Shotesham ford. The pool here is a popular location in summer time for paddling, swimming and fishing. From Shotesham the river flows northwards through
Stoke Holy Cross,
Dunston,
Caistor St Edmund, Markshall and
Arminghall. It joins the
River Yare at
Trowse - just south of
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
.
[Ordnance Survey of Great Britain]
The Tas valley contains many interesting historical sites including: an Iron Age hill fort at
Tasburgh, the old Roman settlement of
Venta Icenorum (now Caistor St Edmund) and the site of a woodhenge at
Arminghall. The mill at
Stoke Holy Cross was the first location of the
Colman's mustard business.
In Roman times the River Tas was considerably larger and provided a major transport route for the inhabitants of
Venta Icenorum. Today it is a small river which winds through farmland.
It contains
roach,
dace, occasional
trout, small
pike and some
chub. One of the largest roach ever caught in the river was a 2.6
pound specimen landed by local angler Bill Coleman in 1972. The best dace was probably one of 1.2 pounds caught by W. Comer in 1943.
References
External links
Smockmill Common, Newton FlotmanTasburgh history
Caistor Roman Town (Venta Icenorum)
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South Norfolk
Tas
1Tas