The Tuckies is a hamlet in the eastern part of Jackfield, lying on the south bank of the River Severn, in the Ironbridge Gorge, and opposite the village of Coalport.

The lower part of The Tuckies, in Ferry Road, is still badly affected by flooding and head-height water levels are clearly displayed in a doorway at The Boat Inn where the 1922 memorial footbridge crosses the River Severn to Coalport.

However, other references below use "The Tuckies" and "Tuckiesfield" to describe locations extending to The Werps to the east, The River Severn to the north, and Ferry Road which leads to the main part of Jackfield village, to the west.

In 1922 landlord Ralph Rockingham, who never really recovered from First World War wounds resulting in a foot being amputated, died of a haemorrhage at The Duke of Wellington, aged just 33.

Smith had been landlord for at least 6 years owing to his existence in The Wellington Journal back in 1897[3] when it was reported that he had been instructed by the council's surveyor to attend to the nuisance caused by drainage problems with the cellar there.

An earlier record, Jackfield in 1851,[5] based on the census returns of that time, show that a John Jones was the innkeeper and that he had a dual occupation, the other as being a China Potter.

The Boat Inn's own web site http://www.boatinnjackfield.com/about.html gives more details about the current landlady, Jenny Alexander, as well as regular activities and live music events held in the summer on their outdoor, riverside stage.

It links Tuckies (part of Jackfield) at The Boat Inn on the southern bank of the Severn, to Coalport (by the Tar Tunnel) on the northern side.

[1] A 360-degree panoramic view[2] of The Tuckies, Tuckies Lane, The Boat Inn, Ferry Road, the Jackfield Memorial Footbridge, the River Severn and entrance to the road to nearby lost village of Werps (now a footpath), is photographed from roughly the same point as where the old ferry would have crossed the Severn and is available for public viewing below, courtesy of the BBC's website.

Some speculation exists,[4] as to whether one of the many barges, deliberately sunk in the River between The Werps and Preens Eddy, possibly to minimise the effects of local landslides, could be the remains of the old Ferry.

The 9th Journal of the Wilkinson Society, dated 1981, publishes part of a letter from Ron Miles of Jackfield, who wrote in June 1980, that the barges were lying on the river bed directly opposite the Coalport China Works.

Miles reports to have subsequently taken pictures of them himself when they became visible during a very dry summer in 1958 and had one of the shots and a small article published in the Express and Star that year.

In the darkness of the night, it was impossible for friends and relations to render effective help at the river bank and many of the bodies were recovered the next morning, at a great distance from the ill-fated spot; some remained under water a month, and a few were never found.

On 20 January 1900, Mr. John Harrison, aged 72, who has had charge of the ferry-boat between the Tuckies and Coalport China Works for over 20 years, was in the act of lighting his lamp on the boat when he fell backwards into the river (witnessed by school teacher Jane Ellen Blocksidge) and was swept away by the swollen waters (witnessed by Henry Wild, boatman), only to be discovered 41 days later, badly decomposed in the Severn at Bridgnorth[17].

The instability of land in the area led to a giant landslide[6] in 1952 which destroyed many houses and commercial properties near the centre of Jackfield itself, about one third of a mile upstream from The Tuckies.

This was after police-constable Reeves had been standing at the bottom of the Tuckies Road, from about 11pm one evening until about midnight, monitoring activity at the Duke of Wellington Inn, while the landlord himself was away.

The Boat Inn, The Tuckies, Jackfield, was the location of an assault in 1937, when Frank Taylor, an iron moulder from neighbouring settlement, The Werps, threw an ashtray at labourer, Ralph Roberts, from No.8, The Lloyds, Iron-Bridge who had been talking with Harry Balmforth from Coalport.

The light patch of grass shown at front of the Duke of Wellington in the photograph above, indicates that a bowling green did exist on the premises, land that in 2011, is private and belongs to the owners of 234 Tuckies Hill.

Apart from discussing the peculiar nature of the stratum of coal found here, the reference goes on to say that much iron is made on this side of the river at the furnaces belonging to Messrs. Hazledine of Shrewsbury, and Messrs. Forster.

Shortly before 1860 the Tuckies was divided into 'two respectable dwelling houses'; it was perhaps then that alterations were made including refenestration, remodelling of the main staircase and some of the interior, and extension of the second storey over the east front in an overhang.

The Earl of Dundonald, (father of the then Lord Cochrane) who resided here a considerable time, undertook chemical experiments, among the principal of which, was that of extracting tar from coals.

[8] The 1871 trade directory for the Broseley parish in borough of Wenlock[16] lists John Doughty from The Tuckies, as a brick, tile, and crest manufacturer, as well as being a barge owner.