Tasburgh Today
Description, organisations, people
The Tasburgh of 1994 is a large village with a cosmopolitan population of over 1100. Unlike the Tasburgh of past centuries, very few inhabitants find employment in the village. Car ownership is high and households with two or more cars are not unusual. Despite this, weekday bus services to Norwich and Long Stratton have survived operating hourly along the main road and five times daily along Low Road.
Although newly built houses have appeared here and there, Lower Tasburgh has preserved the peaceful charm of a straggling rural village.This is not so in parts of Upper Tasburgh where the housing explosion of the 1960s and 70s has all but enveloped the few older buildings. Fortunately the developments came in four separate blocks, each with distinct variations in the size, style, and intensity of housing, thus giving each area a different character. It is also fortuitous that the once lonely wooded lane that is now Church Road has contrived to remain a pleasant winding artery with a happy blend of both housing and gardens.
In the face of over production of cereals, arable farming has retreated to the light, valley side soils which were those first cultivated by Neolithic farmers 6000 years ago. The higher clay lands are now chiefly down to grass, giving crops of hay and grazing for sheep, cattle and horses.
Tasburgh Hall is no longer a private residence but houses a Buddhist sect. The future of Rainthorpe Hall is uncertain following the recent death of the owner, Mr George Hastings, some of the adjacent garden had been converted into a garden centre with the remaining gardens and grounds open to the public on three days weekly. The village retains its public house, once The Bird in Hand now the Countryman, while opposite on the main road the Little Chef restaurant offers meals and refreshment to passing motorists. A village shop opened briefly in Church Road in 1991, it was unable to survive but the post office further down the road still thrives.
High car ownership has made the many attractions of Norwich, Long Stratton and district easily available but despite this a wide range of activities are promoted and enjoyed by the present day villagers of Tasburgh. These are listed below as they were at the end of 1993.
