yeovil people
robert tucker the Elder
Glove Manufacturer
The
Tucker family in
Yeovil goes back
at least
to the
sixteenth-century
and the surname
denoted a fuller
- one who cleans
and thickens
cloth in the
finishing
process.
Robert Tucker the Elder was born in Yeovil and is thought possibly to be the un-named child, son of Amos Tucker, whose baptism was recorded in St John's parish register on 5 August 1770.
Robert married Margaret Messiter of Barwick, presumably around 1798, although I could find no record of their marriage in either Barwick or Yeovil. Robert and Margaret lived in Yeovil, where Robert amassed a fortune as a glove manufacturer towards the end of the eighteenth-century. They were to have at least one child, Robert Tucker the Younger, who was baptised at St John's church on 31 January 1802.
In the 1832 poll book, Robert Tucker the Elder and his son Robert Tucker the Younger were both listed, separately, as living in Hendford; Robert the younger by virtue of a freehold house and Robert the elder by virtue of freehold land.
Robert the Elder died in Yeovil in the autumn of 1841 and Robert the Younger placed a stained-glass window in memory of his father at the east end of Holy Trinity church.
Land Holdings
The Yeovil Tithe Apportionment of 1846 and the Preston Plucknett Tithe Apportionment of 1848 show that Robert Tucker the Elder had extensive land holdings, passed to his son Robert Tucker the Younger on his death in 1841, in both places as tabulated below.
His total acreage held in Yeovil was 46a 0r 13p while the total acreage held in Preston Plucknett was 105a 5r 9p.
Yeovil Tithe Apportionment 1846 | |||
Owner | Occupier | No | Name |
Tucker, Robert | Hare, Rev Thomas | 343 | House & Garden |
Tucker, Robert | Horsey, Thomas | 346 | Yarn Barton |
Tucker, Robert | Horsey, Thomas | 671 | Sherrys Mead |
Tucker, Robert | Horsey, Thomas | 672 | Dry Close |
Tucker, Robert | Horsey, Thomas | 673 | Dry Close |
Tucker, Robert | Horsey, Thomas | 682 | In Rustywell Field |
Tucker, Robert | Horsey, Thomas | 684 | Rustywell Mead |
Tucker, Robert | Penkeville, John | 677 | House, Garden & Plot |
Tucker, Robert | Pilton, Emanuel | 622 | In Middle Northover |
Tucker, Robert | Pilton, Emanuel | 644 | In Higher Northover |
Tucker, Robert | Pilton, Emanuel | 658 | In Higher Northover |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 629 | Francis' Close |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 630 | Clover Field |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 631 | Middle Field |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 632 | Furlong |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 633a | Watercombe Orchard |
Tucker, Robert | Tucker, Robert | 345 | House, Garden & Field |
Tucker, Robert | Tucker, Robert | 678 | Rustywell Orchard |
Preston Plucknett Tithe Apportionment 1848 | |||
Owner | Occupier | No | Name |
Tucker, Robert | de Chavelle, Couly | 135 | Dwellinghouse & Garden |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 132 | Farm House, Offices & Garden |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 133 | Home Orchard |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 134 | Cowleaze & Barton |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 136 | Long Mead |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 137 | Second Close |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 138 | Four Acres |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 139 | Seven & Eight Acres |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 141 | Five Acres |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 142 | Nine Acres |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 143 | Pookhay Mill |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 144 | Five Acre Mead |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 145 | Three Acre Mead |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 146 | Little Bucks Mead |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 147 | Catshill Eight Acres |
Tucker, Robert | Roberts, Joseph | 148 | Catshill Ten Acres |
Tucker, Robert | Tucker, Robert | 145a | Plantation |
Tucker, Robert | Tucker, Robert | 146a | Plantation |
Note: The farm occupied by Joseph Roberts was Preston Lower Farm
map
Bidder's map of 1843 shows West Hendford running from top centre towards bottom left before petering out, Hendford runs from top right corner to bottom right and Horsey Lane joins the two at bottom centre. Robert Tucker's land, including his house Hendford Lodge, is marked 'Mr R Tucker' and occupies all the land between West Hendford and Hendford.
gallery
Robert Tucker the Elder
The Hendford
entrance to
Hendford Lodge.
Hendford Lodge was Robert Tucker the Elder's home for many years and passed to his son Robert Tucker the Younger on the father's death in 1841. It was demolished in 1973.