Henry Boot (1851–1931) was an English businessman who was the founder of

Henry Boot plc Henry Boot plc is a British property development business based in Sheffield, England. It was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1919,Henry Boot & Sons (London) Prospectus, 1919. becoming the first quoted housebuilder. Between the wars, Hen ...

Personal life

Henry Boot was the eldest surviving son of Charles and Ann Boot. He was born on 9 December 1851 in

Heeley Heeley was a cluster of small villages which now form a suburb in the south of the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The village has existed at least since 1343, its name deriving from ''Heah Leah'', ''High Lea'' then ''Hely'', mea ...

, a small village two miles (3.2 km) outside

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, England. Henry's father had described himself as a stonemason in the 1851 census but as a farmer when the children were baptized.Ron Baines: ''The Boot Family'' (1998) In the 1871 census, 19-year-old Henry is living with his parents and is shown as a joiner's apprentice. The next year, he married Hannah White (1855–1941) and moved to Napier Street, Sheffield, sandwiched between the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

meeting hall. Having first worshiped at the Church, he moved to the Brethren and later formed his own Brethren meeting. Henry and Hannah had 13 children over 20 years, ten of whom survived to adulthood.

Career

Henry worked as an employee in the building industry for around 20 years before establishing his own joinery shop in 1886. The censuses record his increased status: in 1891, a joiner; in 1901, a builder and joiner; and in 1911, a joiner, builder, and contractor. His accommodation kept pace as well, with successive moves to larger houses: by 1911, he was living in an eleven-room house in Sheffield. His firm,

, became an increasingly important contractor, but the driving force was Henry's eldest son, Charles Boot. By the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Henry had retired from the company. He died on 2 November 1931 at his home on Victoria Road in Broomhall, aged 80. His grave is in

Crookes Cemetery Crookes Cemetery is a cemetery between Crosspool and Crookes in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its main entrance is on Headland Road with additional access from Mulehouse Road. It was opened in 1906, and covers . By 2009, ove ...

in Sheffield.''"It Comes To Us All" – A Portrait of Crookes Cemetery'', Julie Stone, self-published, , p. 34 gives details of death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boot, Henry 1851 births 1931 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople