William Smith and Tucking Mill: The story of a geologist and his ‘cherished’ home

Abstract

This is the story of William Smith and Tucking Mill—the only home he ever owned—from the time he ‘discovered’ the property in 1798 to the time it was lost to bailiffs in 1819. Focus is placed on Smith's ‘venture into stone manufacture’ when in 1811–1812 he opened up a quarry of Bath Stone and built a railway to transport it to a water-powered stone-sawing facility at Tucking Mill. Here he contrived a saw-frame to cut and dress the stone for building, to be sent to all parts of the country by canal boat. Reasons for the failure of the scheme, and the ultimate loss of his ‘cherished property’, are examined. Also examined are the lines of verse he wrote between 1819 and 1826 which provide a rare insight into the impact Tucking Mill had on his life.