Tucking Mill
Encyclopedia
Tucking Mill is a small hamlet
within the parish of Monkton Combe
, Somerset
, England. It lies on Midford Brook
and was a key point on the now disused Somerset Coal Canal
.
It is at the southern end of the Two Tunnels Greenway
which will follow the disused railway trackbed of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
from East Twerton
through the Bath suburb of Oldfield Park to the Devonshire Tunnel. It will then emerge into Lyncombe Vale before entering the Combe Down Tunnel
, and then coming out to cross Tucking Mill Viaduct into Midford
.
There is also a small reservoir, which is now a fishery for the disabled.
, an English
geologist
, credited with creating the first nationwide geological map. He is known as the "Father of English Geology
" for collating the geological history of England and Wales
into a single record. He worked on the Somerset coalfield
and the Somerset Coal Canal
. There is a plaque on Tucking Mill cottage saying that it was Smith's home, which was erected in 1888, on the mill which was demolished in 1927, and the tablet was mislaid. When the plaque was found in the 1930s the Geological Society of London
and the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution
placed it on the 18th century cottage, although it is now believed that he lived in the nearby Tucking Mill House. During his occupation he built a small railway to transport stone from a quarry at Kingham Field, Combe Down
to the canal.
it was the site of a Fuller's earth
factory. George Dames and his brother Charles Richard Dames set up a mine in Horsecombe Vale. At the bottom of the valley was the pan grinding works where water from Horsecombe Brook was used to make a slurry from which sand settled at the bottom of troughs. The slurry then passed through an earthenware pipe to Tucking Mill, where a second stage of sedimentation took place in large troughs where it settled for up to 30 days. Once the water had been drained by sluices the damp caked earth was carried in wooden trams to kilns where it was dried for three to four days. The product was used in the oil refining and pharmaceutical industries. The original uses in woollen production no longer used Fuller's earth. A railway siding at Midford railway station
was built specifically to load Fullers earth.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
within the parish of Monkton Combe
Monkton Combe
Monkton Combe is a village and civil parish in north Somerset, England, south of Bath. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Tucking Mill, has a population of 356.-History:Monkton Combe was part of the hundred of Bath Forum.According to Rev...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England. It lies on Midford Brook
Midford Brook
Midford Brook is a small river in Somerset, England.It is formed by convergence of the Wellow Brook and Cam Brook at Midford before passing Tucking Mill and joining the River Avon close to the Dundas Aqueduct and the remains of the Somerset Coal Canal....
and was a key point on the now disused Somerset Coal Canal
Somerset Coal Canal
The Somerset Coal Canal was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800 from basins at Paulton and Timsbury via Camerton, an aqueduct at Dunkerton, Combe Hay, Midford and Monkton Combe to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal...
.
It is at the southern end of the Two Tunnels Greenway
Two Tunnels Greenway
The Two Tunnels Greenway is a shared use path for walking and cycling under construction in Bath, Somerset, England.-Route:The route will follow the disused railway trackbed of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway from East Twerton through the Bath suburb of Oldfield Park to the Devonshire Tunnel...
which will follow the disused railway trackbed of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire...
from East Twerton
Twerton
Twerton is a suburb of the city of Bath, Somerset, England, situated to the west of the city, and home to the city's football club, Bath City....
through the Bath suburb of Oldfield Park to the Devonshire Tunnel. It will then emerge into Lyncombe Vale before entering the Combe Down Tunnel
Combe Down Tunnel
Combe Down Tunnel is on the now-closed Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway main line, between Midford and Bath Queen Square, below high ground and the southern suburbs of Bath, England, emerging below the southern slopes of Combe Down village....
, and then coming out to cross Tucking Mill Viaduct into Midford
Midford
Midford is a village approximately miles south south east of Bath, Somerset, England within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
.
There is also a small reservoir, which is now a fishery for the disabled.
William Smith's home
From 1798 until 1810 Tucking Mill was the home of William SmithWilliam Smith (geologist)
William 'Strata' Smith was an English geologist, credited with creating the first nationwide geological map. He is known as the "Father of English Geology" for collating the geological history of England and Wales into a single record, although recognition was very slow in coming...
, an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
, credited with creating the first nationwide geological map. He is known as the "Father of English Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
" for collating the geological history of England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
into a single record. He worked on the Somerset coalfield
Somerset coalfield
The Somerset Coalfield included pits in the North Somerset, England, area where coal was mined from the 15th century until 1973.It is part of a wider coalfield which covered northern Somerset and southern Gloucestershire. It stretched from Cromhall in the north to the Mendip Hills in the south, and...
and the Somerset Coal Canal
Somerset Coal Canal
The Somerset Coal Canal was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800 from basins at Paulton and Timsbury via Camerton, an aqueduct at Dunkerton, Combe Hay, Midford and Monkton Combe to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal...
. There is a plaque on Tucking Mill cottage saying that it was Smith's home, which was erected in 1888, on the mill which was demolished in 1927, and the tablet was mislaid. When the plaque was found in the 1930s the Geological Society of London
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...
and the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution
The Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution is an educational charity based in Bath, England. It was founded in 1824 and provides a museum, an independent library, exhibition space, meeting rooms and a programme of public lectures, discussion groups and exhibitions related to science, the...
placed it on the 18th century cottage, although it is now believed that he lived in the nearby Tucking Mill House. During his occupation he built a small railway to transport stone from a quarry at Kingham Field, Combe Down
Combe Down
Combe Down is a village suburb of Bath, England in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Somerset. Combe Down sits on a ridge above and about 1.5 miles to the south of Bath city centre. "Combe" or "coombe" is a West Country word meaning a steep-sided...
to the canal.
Fuller's earth factory
From 1883 until the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was the site of a Fuller's earth
Fuller's earth
Fuller's earth is any non-plastic clay or claylike earthy material used to decolorize, filter, and purify animal, mineral, and vegetable oils and greases.-Occurrence and composition:...
factory. George Dames and his brother Charles Richard Dames set up a mine in Horsecombe Vale. At the bottom of the valley was the pan grinding works where water from Horsecombe Brook was used to make a slurry from which sand settled at the bottom of troughs. The slurry then passed through an earthenware pipe to Tucking Mill, where a second stage of sedimentation took place in large troughs where it settled for up to 30 days. Once the water had been drained by sluices the damp caked earth was carried in wooden trams to kilns where it was dried for three to four days. The product was used in the oil refining and pharmaceutical industries. The original uses in woollen production no longer used Fuller's earth. A railway siding at Midford railway station
Midford railway station
Midford railway station was a single-platform station on the Bath extension of the Somerset and Dorset Railway, just to the north of the point where the double-track became a single track. It served the village of Midford...
was built specifically to load Fullers earth.