The High Street, looking towards the Tolsey Clock.

otton has a good selection of shops, situated chiefly in High Street, Long Street, Market Street and Church Street. The Town's Chamber of Trade is conscious of the necessity for high quality in the service given by shops, and has recently appointed a part-time Town Centre manager to help ensure the health of Wotton's shops and businesses.

While many residents do commute to the towns and cities around, Wotton is itself still a working town, though most of its industries are discreetly hidden. The cloth industry is no more, but we are fortunate that a local resident, Mr David McMurtry, and a fellow employee at Rolls Royce, Mr John Deer, set up a company a quarter of a century ago, which is now the biggest employer in the immediate area. Renishaw's business is metrology, the science of measurement, with products that enable measurements to be taken cost-effectively to international standards.

Renishaw began its operation in Wotton-under-Edge in 1976 on the site of the former Stokes' Ice Cream Factory. A new building on the site was opened by H.R.H. The Princess Anne in 1979, the building which now houses Wotton's Civic Centre. Renishaw plc acquired the New Mills site, one mile from town and just into Kingswood parish, in 1982 and is continuing to expand its operations on site. New Mills houses the headquarters and main research and development, design, manufacture and marketing of the Group's co-ordinate measuring machine, machine tool, digitizing and encoder products.

New Mills, headquarters of Renishaw plc.   Photo: Renishaw © 1998

Renishaw has established subsidiary companies overseas to provide marketing and technical support for its major markets, with distributors and agents providing additional support around the globe. Currently the Group employs some 1200, with approaching 900 in the UK. The Group has been awarded many accolades, including eight Queen's Awards, the MacRobert Award and nine Millennium Product commendations.

There are several small scale industries besides: Berkshire Gravure, Cotswold Health Foods and some well established building and motor firms contribute to the variety of employment offered in the town, in addition to that afforded by traders and high street businesses.