Charles Boot

Charles Boot JP (1874-1945) was the eldest son of Henry Boot and the driving force behind the growth of Henry Boot & Sons in the inter-war period. As well as creating one of the largest contracting and housebuilding firms of its time, he was a staunch advocate of the need for better housing and the virtues of private rather than local authority housing. He was also the creator of Pinewood Studios.

Charles Boot was the eldest son of Henry Boot and the second of 13 children born to Henry and Hannah. Henry and Hannah’s first home was in Napier Street, Sheffield next to the Plymouth Brethren meeting rooms. Henry became a member of the Brethren, eventually forming his own meeting place; Charles would have had a religious upbringing but there is no evidence that he shared his father’s enthusiasm.

Charles was 12 when his father began to work on his own account as a jobbing builder, and Charles joined him after leaving school staying with the firm until his death in 1945. The censuses mark his progress: a joiner’s apprentice in 1891; a foreman joiner in 1901; and a building contractor in 1911. It was in that decade that Charles appeared to take complete control of the business and in the 1919 flotation he was the managing director.

Charles married Bertha Matthews (1870-1926) in 1897, they had two children, Henry and Gertrude and lived at Sugworth Hall on the western outskirts of Sheffield. Bertha died in late 1926 and in early 1927 Charles remarried in London – to Kate Hebb. Charles Boot died in 1945. He had been a Justice of the Peace, Member of the Council of the House Builders' Association, President of the Federation of Master Builders (1944), and a Grand Commander in the Order of the Redeemer, Greece’s highest honour.

Charles’ business career is detailed under Henry Boot PLC. Under its then name of Henry Boot & Sons, the firm built more houses than any other company in the inter-war period, was an international contractor, and developed Pinewood Studios. Outside the firm, he became a forceful spokesman for the housebuilding industry, supporting measures to reduce the cost of local authority housing and he was a keen advocate of building for private sale rather than for local authorities.

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