Sunday, 3 November 2013

George Boot, Brickmaker, Sutton in Ashfield


George Boot is first recorded as builder & contractor on Mansfield Road, Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. in Kelly's 1886 edition, then again in Kelly's 1899 edition. The first record of George Boot owning a brickworks is this 8th of March 1901 advert which appeared in the Hucknall Morning Star & Advertiser. This advert also records the location of George's brickworks as being on Dalestorth Road (coloured blue on the 1917 OS map below). 

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Kelly's 1904 edition is the first trade directory recording George Boot as a builder & brickmaker with the address of Mansfield Road which was his builders yard. 

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1917.
I originally though George Boot owned the yellow coloured brickworks on this map with it's clay pit bordering onto Mansfield Road, but I have now discounted this option because it was his builders yard which was on Mansfield Road. I just note this yellow coloured brickworks was accessed via a lane off Skegby Road which is now Hill Crescent. Kelly's 1908 edition correctly lists George Boot's brickworks as being on Dalestorth Road, Sutton in Ashfield.

George Boot built himself a grand house at the entrance to yard, which still stands to day. It has ornate brickwork around the doors & windows & it shows his craft to it's fullest. The couple who now own this house were very interested to hear about my interest in the house, as they wanted to rebuild the 3rd floor, which had been taken down many years ago, but they had not got any plans or photos of the building at that time. So I asked an elderly lady I knew who lives on that road, if she had any photos but the answer was no, but she did remember the 3rd storey. Then the gentleman said, come around the back. There was a large pile of bricks which had come from the 3rd floor. Not one brick had George's name stamped in them, they were all plain bricks ! Kelly's 1916 edition is the last entry for George Boot at the Dalestorth Road works.

In Kelly's 1922 & 25 editions we now find new owners at this brickworks & they are listed as S.E. Carding & Son, Dalestorth Road, Sutton in Ashfield, but then we find in the next directory in 1928 that the works are now back in the hands of the Boot family & recorded as Boot Bros. Dalestorth Road, S in A. This is followed by the same entry in Kelly's 1932 edition & then Cope's 1933-34 edition. Kelly's 1936 edition no longer records the Boot Brothers & on the 1938 O.S. map, houses have now been built along the front of their yard on Dalestorth Road, with open fields to the rear.

This brickyard is recorded on the 1877 O.S. map & I have found Thomas Slack owned this works from the 1881 census to Kelly's 1899 edition, so Slack may have established this yard ?


      One of George's moulded bricks & reverse with name.






Variation found 13.9.14 in Derbyshire.

Photo by Darren Haywood.






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