River Tas

The River Tas is a river which flows northwards through South Norfolk in England - towards 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.^[1]

Tas
The river at Caistor St. Edmund
Location of the river mouth within Norfolk
Location
Country	England
Region	Norfolk
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Carleton Rode
• coordinates	52.4849°N 1.1021°E / 52.4849; 1.1021
• elevation	51 m (167 ft)
Mouth	River Yare
• location	Trowse
• coordinates	52.6089°N 1.3069°E / 52.6089; 1.3069
• elevation	3 m (9.8 ft)
Basin features
River system	River Yare
Tributaries
• right	Hempnall Beck

The River Tas and its tributaries in South Norfolk.

v t e River Tas
Legend
Source near Carleton Rode B1113 Carleton Fen Old Hall Bridge Hall Road Bridge Road Low Common Road Ford Moulton Bridge Wash Lane Station Road, Forncett St. Peter Horsenford Water Long Lane Tacolneston tributary Tharston Mill The Street Great Eastern Main Line Low Tharston Hempnall Beck Low Road, Lower Tasburgh A140, Newton Flotman Smockmill Common, Saxlingham Shotesham Park Shotesham Mill Shotesham ford Shotesham tributary Mill Road, Stoke Holy Cross Stoke Mill Venta Icenorum Markshall Lane, Caistor St Edmund A47 River Yare

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.^[2]

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.^{[citation needed]} The best dace was probably one of 1.2 pounds caught by W. Comer in 1943.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. E. Ekwall, 1928, English-River-names, p. 393
2. Ordnance Survey of Great Britain

External links

• Smockmill Common, Newton Flotman
• Tasburgh history
• River Tas Literary Links
• Caistor Roman Town (Venta Icenorum)