Tuckers clay pits

Over the years I seem to have written quite a few blogposts about Tuckers, the brickmakers of Loughborough (see below), and included the company in some of my presentations and books. It seems timely to re-visit …

Evidence of Tucker’s brickworks can still be seen around Loughborough. Charnwood Water, formerly a Tucker’s claypit, is now filled with water and is a haven for birds, a great place for anglers, a perfect place for model boats (though not so often nowadays), is ideal for walking, and once was the location for raft and dragon boat races.

I make quite regular visits to Charnwood Water, which was once known as Tuckers Pond, and every time I visit, I see something different! I guess this is partly because of the changing seasons, which means that the plants are different throughout the year, and the views are different when the trees are in leave and during the winter. It’s also partly because of the migratory birds that grace the pond, so Sometimes there’s loads of Canada Geese, or black and white ducks, while other times there’ll be loads of cygnets. Bizarrely, I’ll see something different, or differently depending on which way round I choose to walk the perimeter! And I see and hear different things depending on whether I’m focussing on looking around, or more on listening – or not focussing on anything other than putting one foot in front of the other, a different experience in the muddy winter, and the sunny spring!

Of course, although I believe this was the main brickworks Tuckers also had a works off what is now Epinal Way, on William Street. There are two ponds in the vicinity, and the little one is now also haven for wildlife, and if I remember rightly, I have also seen people fishing there. It’s a bit hidden, and I don’t think it’s possible to walk all the way around, and some of the banks are a bit slopey, but it’s an interesting place, nestled as it is between allotments and a new housing estate. I’m not sure that the larger pond is publicly accessible.

The other Tuckers works was called the Park Road Brick and Tile Works, and was off Park Road, with kilns and other buildings closer to what is now Beacon Road. The main site is now occupied by a supermarket – the building, the car park and the petrol station covering almost exactly the footprint of the brickworks, and the area closer to Beacon Road is now a storage area for a building firm. However, before this, the area was used as the town landfill site, before moving to its present position on Railway Terrace, off Nottingham Road.

Previous posts about Tuckers

A selection of Tuckers buildings post-1934 

A few Tuckers brick buildings from 1928-1933 

Some of Tuckers early buildings up to 1927 

A selection of buildings in Loughborough made from Tuckers bricks 

A bit of family history

Previous posts about Charnwood Water

A winter walk around Charnwood Water 

Charnwood Water in the snow 

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

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Tuckers

A few weeks ago I was leafing through the local paper (The Loughborough Echo, Wednesday 23 March, 2016, p31) and my attention was caught by a headline in the Looking Back section, From The Archives, 50 years ago ... Beacon Rd brickworks ...

Apparently, the brickworks on Beacon Road, belonging to Tuckers, was scheduled to close after Easter. That would have been around April 1966, which was only a couple of years since Tuckers had been taken over by Butterley Bricks. 

I think my interest in the brick-making firm of Tuckers started when I looked into the development of Middleton Place, and discovered that one member of the brick-making family was living at number 81. I've also seen a number of adverts for Tuckers Bricks in some of my books, including in "Loughborough 1951":

The Gilbert Tuckers

The story of this brick-making family goes back many years. Gilbert Tucker (born Smisby, 1806) was married to a lady called Hannah Orgill, who was born in 1811. In 1841 Gilbert was a publican and maltster, running what was then called the Malt Shovel (which I believe is now called the Tap House and is on the corner of Annwell Lane and Ashby Road, and was previously known as the Annwell Inn, and Mother Hubbard's). Also in 1841 Gilbert and Hannah had at least 3 children: Gilbert (jnr) born Clay Cross, 1838; William, born 1833; Emma, born 1839; and Nathan, born 1841. 

By the time of the 1851 census, Gilbert snr was now a brick maker and, and Gilbert jnr was a brick maker's assistant, and they were living on Far Park Lane, Loughborough. When the next census took place, in 1861, Gilbert snr was living with his wife Hannah and their son Nathan in Brickyard Cottage, in Loughborough Parks (in between the listings for Pocket Gate and Sydney Terrace). Gilbert snr was a brick maker/master employing 2 men and 6 boys, and Nathan was also a brick maker. They were also living with James something-or-other, who seems to have been a partner in the brick making business.

Meanwhile, by 1861, Gilbert jnr had branched out and moved away from his parents, having married Eliza. They, with their 8 month old son, William Trueman, were living on Bedford Street (the next census entry is for Albert Street), and Gilbert was a brick maker/master, and a Primitive Methodist local preacher. 

By 1871, Gilbert and Eliza were living at number 2 Park Street, with 6 of their children (William Trueman, Annie, Lucy Emma, John Edward, Ellen and Arthur. Gilbert was by now a brick maker/master employing 11 men and 6 boys. Father Gilbert, brick maker, and his wife Hannah were at this time living on Park Lane, with their invalid son, Nathan, formerly a brick maker, and Nathan's wife, Eliza.

In 1876, Gilbert snr died, and in 1881 his widow, Hannah can be found living in Park Lane with Kate, aged 7, listed as Hannah's daughter (???). At the same time, Gilbert jnr was living with his wife, Eliza, the same 6 children as in 1871, but were joined by 2 further children, Florence Louisa, and Alfred Gilbert. Gilbert was a master brick maker and farmer, John Edward was an assistant brick maker, and William Trueman was a book keeper. They were all living on Forest Road, at number 12, which I believe is the house on the corner of Park Road and Forest Road, opposite the side of the Trinity Methodist Church.

In 1886 Eliza Tucker died, and in 1887 Gilbert jnr married Annie Jane Evans Boden (daughter of Charles Boden of Walsall), from Chesterfield, and in 1889 their son, Charles Henry Boden Tucker was born. At the time of the 1891 census, Gilbert is living with his new wife Annie, his children from his first marriage - Annie, Ellen, Florence, Kate, and Alfred - and their son Charles. Gilbert is listed as a brick manufacturer, Alfred is a joiner's apprentice and they are still living at number 12 Forest Road.

Hannah Tucker died in 1893. In 1901 son Gilbert, his wife Annie, their son, Charles, and Annie's father Charles, were living at Brick Yard, which I believe is number 1 Granville Street. Gilbert was listed as a brick and terra cotta manufacturer. His father-in-law Charles was a retired Primitive Methodist Minister.

1911 and Gilbert, his wife and their son Charles were living at Burleigh Cottage on William Street, which appears to be next to number 14. Gilbert was listed as a brick and tile manufacturer (employer) and Charles listed as a tile maker (worker). Gilbert died in February 1920 and left the sum of £2,596 5s. 6d. Probate was granted to his widow Annie, and his son Arthur, a brick manufacturer.

Arthur Tucker

Gilbert jnr's son Arthur, born in 1869, was living with his parents on the night of the 1871 and 1881 census, but I can't find a listing for him in 1891. By 1901 he was listed as a brick makers manager, and on the night of the census was at the house of his sister, Annie, and her husband, Wallis Adcock, at 134 Herrick Road. It was in the summer of 1901 that Arthur married Mary Ellen Hand, in Shardlow, and their daughter Ida Mary was born in 1903, and their son Arthur Leslie born in 1907. In 1911 the family were living at 81 Middleton Place, and Arthur was listed as a brick and tile manufacturer. 

At the time of his death, on 29 May 1936, Arthur was living at "Gyseburne" on Ashby Road. Probate was granted to Mary Ellen, his widow, and Arthur Leslie, his son, a brick manufacturer. He left the sum of £44,579 6s. 6d.

William Trueman Tucker

William Trueman Tucker, the eldest son of Gilbert jnr and his wife Eliza, was born in 1861 and was living with his parents and siblings at the time on the 1871 and the 1881 census, and in the latter he was listed as a book keeper. In 1883 he married Martha Philips Jones, the daughter of John Jones, the iron founder of Britannia House, and their son, William Jones was born in 1885. In 1891 William and his wife Martha were living at 12 Charnwood Road (although I'm not sure the house numbering is still the same today - see later census returns) with their children, William Jones, Charles Gilbert, born 1886, and Elsie Mary, born 1890. William Trueman was listed as a brick manufacturer.

by 1901 the family had been joined by another child, Dorothy Martha, born 1893, and were living at "Parkside" on Charnwood Road (which today is a nursery school, and is numbered 25). William Trueman is listed as a brick manufacturer (employer) but there was no occupation listed for the two sons who were now 16 and 14; nor were they listed as scholars.

Still living at "Parkside" in 1911, William Trueman and Martha now lived William Jones and Dorothy Martha, and Violet Ruth who was born in 1902. William Trueman was listed as the Managing Director of a Brick and Tile Works, whilst William Jones was now a brick maker.

William Trueman Tucker died on 17 November 1925. The family were still living at "Parkside" and probate was granted to Martha Phillips, William Jones Tucker, Manager, and Charles Gilbert Tucker, squadron leader, RAF. He left £11,985 19s. 7d.     

Charles Gilbert Tucker

Charles died in an unfortunate flying boat accident in 1931 in Plymouth. The Blackburn Iris No N238 was a British three-engined biplane (unlike the Sunderlands which were British flying boat patrol bombers).  

William Jones Tucker

William married Hannah Marion Stephenson in January 1912, and I believe they went to live in Canada, but returned to England in about 1918. Their son, Robert, was born in Vernon, British Columbia in 1913, but sadly died in 1918 in Loughborough. William died on 7 September 1946. He had been living at "Stapenhill" (number 156) Leicester Road, in Loughborough. Probate was granted to Hannah, his widow, and David William, an architectural student at the time, who was their son and he left £6,054 14s. 6d.. 

David William Tucker 

There may well have been other children, but David William was born in 1925, and after his studies he went on to design golf courses, like Lingdale, Beedles Lake, amongst others. His daughter, Lindsay Jelley (wife of the MD of Jelsons) has been going through the papers he left when he died in 2006, and there is an interesting discussion of this in Golf Course Architecture: the global journal of golf design and development (2014).
          
Bricks today

The identification and collecting of bricks is a particularly popular hobby today, and there are a number of useful and interesting websites where you can see pictures of the actual bricks that were used.  

Houses on the local Shelthorpe estate, which were built around 1926-1928, were made of bricks and tiles made locally by Tuckers.

When the Nottingham Patent Brick Company couldn't supply enough bricks to finish building St Pancras railway station, Tuckers provided more (along with a number of other brick makers, including Wains of Heather, and the Butterley Brick Company.

I don't know why, but I have a feeling Tuckers bricks were used in the construction of the former central control tower at Heathrow airport. 

Of course, there were many local buildings in Loughborough that used Tuckers bricks, not least the Carillon, which, as well as using mostly these local bricks, used steel made by Herbert Morris's, bells that were cast and hung by Taylors, and the tower being built by Moss the builders.     

If you happened to want to own some Tuckers bricks or roof tiles, they are, apparently, available to buy!

I believe the clay pits that were used by Tuckers have now been reused, one being part of the site occupied by Tesco's Park Road store and William Davis Construction, the other having been filled with water and which has become Charnwood Water, formerly known as Tucker's Pond.

So, I'd better stop now! As ever, this research could go on for so much longer ...

Winter walk around the water - Charnwood, that is!

Last week I shared with you some information about needle-making in Loughborough, and promised you a post about one of the needle-making families in town. Although I've done quite a lot of work on this, my research is not yet in a fit enough state to be published on this blog. Apologies, but please enjoy this week's offering. I'm hoping to post next Saturday, instead of Sunday, Saturday being, rather significantly, 31st January.

Recently, we were going to go for a walk at Beacon Hill, but when we got there, there was a queue waiting to get into the car park because of a running event that was taking place, so instead we took a meander around Charnwood Water, and we weren't disappointed! Loads of swans, coots, ducks, remote controlled boats, and a steam train, not to mention lovely trees, and a view of the back of the Cedars (formerly the home of the Loughborough town banker)! Charnwood Water used to be called Tucker's Pond because before being filled with water, this was a clay pit, the clay from which was used by the local firm of Tuckers to make bricks.