After the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the conquest of England by William and his followers a period of stability led to a population explosion in the 12thand 13th Centuries and second names [surnames] started to become a necessity.

There is a reference in the Domesday book to a subtenant named Toka but nothing on Tuk. or its variants so the name may not have arrived in England until the 12th Century or later.

The first written reference to the two part surname Tuk - ley, so far found, appears in the Lay Subsidy Rolls [Tax Lists] of Yardley, Warwickshire :-

1275  William de Tukkeleye  Taxable Value 50 shillings

1275  Richard de Takkel   Taxable Value 30 Shillings

1327  Richard de Tokeley  Taxable Value 15 shillings  

People were only taxed when their property had a value of 10 shillings or more.

In the early written documents the letters"a" "o" and "u" were very interchangeable and surnames had the prefix "de" from the French form of address.The English language replaced French as the official language of the Court in 1350 and as a consequence the use of the word "de" disappeared and the spelling of second names [surnames] assumed the format that we use today.

The next reference to the name does not occur until 1392 when the "de" link had disappeared :-

1392  Richard Tukkeley  - Chaplain to the Vicar of St Edburghs Church Yardley

The Tuckley family were only one of 25 families who survived the Great Famine in 1315 to 1317 and the Black Death in 1381. [Reference Victor Skipp in his book
entitled " Medieval Yardley].

The following references to the Tuckley Surname can be found in documents concerning land transactions in the Yardley area  :-

1392  [July and August]   John Tukkeley     Plot of land with a certain house

1424  William Tokkeley     Conveyance of a croft of land at Burdenshull in Yerdley

1424 and 1444  William Tukkeley   Feoffment of half  a meadow called Billesleysmede in Yerdley

1453   John Tukkeley    Grant of land with a certain house

1461 and 1462  William Tokkeley   Grant  of a croft of land lying at Burdoneshull [The land may have been adjacent to the main Birmingham to Coventry Road]

These transactions suggest that they were perhaps free from feudal servitude and owned or rented land and could be classified as Yeoman.