| Place Name | Building W9 |
| Place Entry | Building W9/Dorothy Boot Homes/Wilford Village/Nottingham/Nottinghamshire/England |
| Code | NA3154 |
| Notes | In 1908, Jesse built the Dorothy Boot Homes in Wilford for veterans of the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny and their wives. Places would later be given to other aged and deserving persons. Wilford was chosen as the site for its pleasant and peaceful surroundings. The 11 almshouses, built by architects Calvert & Gleave, each have two storeys, roughcast rendered buildings with clay tiled hipped roofs and front gable features, in a crescent layout overlooking a landscaped garden.
They were provided rent free, and coal for the central heating was also supplied free by Boots. Coal and light were supplied free for the Caretaker. Each house had a bath and a garden. The residents had free medical attendance from a nurse and doctor. There was a large clubroom, which was licensed for the sale of beer and spirits on the condition that there were at least 25 members. This was used as a meeting place for the ‘Crimean and Indian Mutiny Veterans’ Club’ whose stated object was “to maintain and advance good fellowship, social intercourse and mutual improvement and assistance among its members.” Annual membership cost a shilling and the club was open to other veterans and local villagers who came to social evenings.
There was a library, where newspapers were provided and there were regular social events for residents and their families. Games such as playing cards, cribbage, draughts, dominoes and backgammon were also available. The residents were at liberty to take any respectable employment. In the early days they had to wear a uniform to church each Sunday consisting of a scarlet coat, dark blue trousers and a peaked cap.
The foundation ceremony and formal opening in November 1909 were an occasion for local celebrations, with school children receiving new silver coins and a holiday from school. The two foundation stones were set in place by Lord Lucas (then the Under-Secretary for State for War) and by Dorothy Boot (eldest daughter of Jesse and Florence Boot) herself.
A committee of management for the homes was set up at first under the chairmanship of Jesse Boot who looked after the occupants’ welfare in full detail.
The remaining veterans of the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny lived here until 1930. Qualifications for tenancy were changed in the 1920’s, when Jesse Boot handed them over to the Company. After this, most of the residents were retired long-serving employees and employees’ widows.
The buildings and front garden wall are now Grade II listed buildings and are located within the Wilford Village Conservation Area. The surrounding area is primarily residential and the site is within an archaeological constraints area.
A visitors’ book for the Dorothy Boot homes in the Boots archives contains the signatures of Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, the Duke of Portland and Lady Violet Bonham Carter. |
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