The Tuckers of Coryton 

A Kilmington Dynasty 

Once part of Kilmington's landed gentry, the Tucker name was once as synonymous with East Devon as thatched cottages and beautiful verdant rolling countryside are today. The family was part of the very DNA of Kilmington. Locally, everyone would have known of them, many paying them the rent and respect they earned through the unjust fortunes of birth. Kilmington’s forebears owed the Tuckers their very livelihoods and would have dutifully doffed their woollen caps to them at a respectful distance. Their names were politely mentioned in London's high society, judiciary circles, ballrooms, stately homes, freemasonry lodges, and many public houses. After all, by the end of the 19th century, they had been part of the ruling classes of the local community for almost 200 years and once owned more than a third of our parish, and a great many of the farms and homes here. But today, the estates are gone, and these people are just ghosts. Their legacies are now little more than antique paintings, dusty church monuments and fading scribbles inked onto fusty old animal skin parchments. They are almost forgotten. 

Of course, their golden years did not last forever and the story of their decline and fall is especially fascinating. The story of their lives could be taken from a Victorian novel: the unravelling of shocking secrets, intrigue, convenient deaths, financial irresponsibility and fortune-hunting spouses. And it all happened on our doorstep, little more than a few generations ago. 

“The Tuckers of Coryton” is a book packed with over 360 pages of information, beautiful colour photographs and detailed illustrations. It not only tells the story about a fortunate and successful family (until they weren’t) and their estate, but it also provides insights into the history of Kilmington from the 17th century to the present day, revealing a world previously forgotten. See for yourself how richly coloured the tapestry of Kilmington’s history is. 

Copies of the book can be obtained for £18 directly from the author, Alan Clarkson alan-clarkson@hotmail.com or KHG@kilmingtonvillage.com. Profits will go to the Kilmington History Group.