John Boot - foundation of Boots.

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John Boot was born in Radcliffe-On-Trent in 1815 and his early life was spent as an agricultural labourer on local farms. He travelled to attend services at the Wesleyan chapels in the Lace Market area of Nottingham and by the time of the 1851 Census had moved to Woolpack Lane in Hockley. It was a poor area and John Boot became involved in chapel affairs and local schemes to improve living conditions within his community.

Herbal remedies were popular with the labouring poor, who could not afford the services of a physician. John Boot's mother had used herbs for healing and he may also have been familiar with remedies published in John Wesley's herbal Primitive Physic. In 1849, with the assistance of his father-in-law and the support of the local Methodist community, John opened The British and American Botanic Establishment at 6 Goose Gate, hoping to provide physical comfort to the needy, as well as a reasonable living for his family.




In addition to giving consultations and serving in the shop, John and his wife, Mary, prepared many remedies themselves. However, after years of hard work and ill-health, John Boot died in 1860, at the age of 45. Mary took over management of the shop, with the help of her ten year-old son, Jesse, who gathered and prepared herbs as well as serving behind the counter.

When Jesse Boot reached the age of 21 he became a partner in the business, which then began to trade under the name of M & J Boot, Herbalists. He was determined to cut his prices and asked customers to pay cash rather than offering them credit. Jesse Boot advertised extensively and began to sell an ever wider range of stock; "over 2,000 articles" as one advert claimed. In 1877 Jesse took sole control of the shop and with takings of £100 a week, he became one of the busiest shopkeepers and the largest dealer in patent medicines in Nottingham.

The business needed more space. In 1881 a property at 16-20 Goosegate fell vacant. With financial support from several local business contacts, Jesse Boot took on a lease, and converted the building into a new shop. It contained the retail and wholesale shops, workshops, stockrooms, offices and living accommodation. In 1883 Jesse established the business as a private company, Boot and Company Limited, with himself as chairman and managing director.





Following the expansion of the Goosegate shop, Jesse Boot wanted to repeat its success elsewhere in Nottingham. He bought up vacant properties across the city, often sites in poorer districts where properties were reasonably cheap and refurbished them in a characteristic style. Each new shop was opened to a fanfare of publicity. As the railway network spread Jesse was able to consider a much larger operation. The first Boots store outside Nottingham was opened in 1884, at Snig Hill in Sheffield.

The success of the business provoked a hostile reaction from many fellow chemists, who criticised the cut-price tactics and tried to cast doubt on some of Boot's products. In 1879 the House of Lords had supported the right of general stores and companies, as well as traditional chemists, to dispense medicines. Jesse therefore sought a qualified pharmacist in order to offer dispensing services and in 1884 Edwin Waring was appointed, bringing with him the professional prestige that the business needed. To build up public confidence in the quality and purity of his products, Jesse renamed the business Boots Pure Drug Company Ltd in 1888.

In 1885 Jesse Boot, suffering from overwork, took a holiday in Jersey, where he met Florence Rowe, the daughter of a bookseller and stationer in St Helier. They were married the following year and John, their first child was born in 1889.

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Florence took an interest in the retail side of the company. New lines were introduced, such as books, stationery, fancy goods, artists' materials and picture frames. Jesse and Florence began to develop a concept of Boots shops as department stores. In 1891 Jesse secured the leasehold of a property at Pelham Street in Nottingham's fashionable town centre. The premises were largely rebuilt, with a gallery supported by a colonnade of cast iron pillars and mahogany counters. Pelham Street became the model for future Boots stores throughout the country.






In support of this expansion, there was investment in the manufacturing side ...

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