The Boots building was built in 1912 in the Arts and Crafts style. It was Boots’ main site in the city for decades until the company moved into the Eagle Centre. Together with brother-in-law William Woollatt, Jedediah Strutt invented the Derby rib, a deceptively simple piece of technology, which adapted conventional framework knitting by reversing every other stitch to create ribbing. It was used for the manufacture of fine goods like mittens and shirts. At Derby, in 1792, Jedediah’s son, William, designed the first ‘fireproof’ mill in England. It was also the first pure cotton calico mill in the world, and put Derby in direct competition with Manchester as the cotton capital of Britain.