JAMES DYSON views the creation of the spinning jenny and the modern factory as the foundation stones of the industrial age. More than 200 years on, their impact is felt in Britain every day, says the creator of Dyson cleaners.

“The idea of the spinning jenny and having a factory, which is down to Hargreaves and Arkwright, is the defining moment of mass production. If industry is products being produced in volume, the spinning jenny must be the inspiration for that.

“Admittedly, what they did was fairly crude but it was mass production and industry all the same. Industry doesn’t depend just on coal, steel and electricty.”

Michael Faraday’s electric generator came a close second: “If anything transformed industrial life and the industrial society, it’s the development of electricty. Before that there was wind power, water power and coal power. Electricity was crucial to making the Industrial Revolution efficient,” says Dyson.