The River Wensum is a chalk river[1] in Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare,[2] despite being the larger of the two rivers. The river is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest[3][4] and Special Area of Conservation.[5][6]
The Wensum is the principal river on which the city of Norwich was founded.[7] The river passes Carrow Road, the home of Norwich City F.C.; one end of the ground was originally named The River End in its honour, a name that still persists among fans.[8]
The river receives its name from the Old English adjective wandsum or wendsum, meaning “winding”.[9]
Modern Ordnance Survey Maps list the source of the Wensum as lying between the villages of Colkirk and Whissonsett in northwest Norfolk.[10] The reasoning behind this claim is unknown given that other tributaries are further from the mouth; pre-modern maps and other written sources refer to the source to be in West Rudham [11] [12] from springs arising on the aptly named Wensum Farm. From the source the river flows close to the villages of South Raynham, West Raynham and East Raynham, passing Raynham Hall, home of the Marquis Townshend. The Wensum then turns and flows north through a number of small villages until it reaches Sculthorpe, where it turns east through the market town of Fakenham.[10] The river then flows in a southeasterly direction through the Pensthorpe Nature Reserve and the village of Great Ryburgh.
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