A visitor to Gloucester Quays shopping centre will find lots of evidence of the county's industrial heritage. Indeed, beneath a sign discouraging dogs and skateboarding there is a blue plaque describing how the mall is located on the site of Fielding & Platt's ‘Atlas Works’. This engineering hub powered the local economy for generations, pioneering hydraulic machinery and, in 1902, building Britain's first vacuum cleaner.
Other firms are still going strong. WSP Textiles, for example, creates the coverings for tennis balls and snooker tables. Its history stretches back 250 years when the Playne family bought
