Renfrewshire, maritime county, in SW. of Scotland, bounded N. by the river Clyde and Dumbartonshire, E. by Lanarkshire, S. by Ayrshire, and W. by the Firth of Clyde; greatest length, NW. and SE., 31 miles; greatest breadth, NE. and SW., 14 miles; area, 150,785 acres, population 263,374. The principal streams, all flowing to the Clyde, are the Black Cart, the White Cart, and the Gryde. The surface in the S. and SW. parts of the county is hilly, and somewhat bleak and moorish; it thence undulates to the banks of the Clyde, along which there is some rich and lowlying land. Coal, ironstone, and lime-stone are abundant; copper ore occurs near Gourock and Lochwinnoch. The principal industries, besides mining and agriculture, are the manufacture of cotton and thread, sugar-refining, and shipbuilding. The county comprises 20 parishes, with parts of 4 others, and the parliamentary burghs of Greenock, Paisley, and Port Glasgow and Renfrew (part of the Kilmarnock Burghs).
– John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887)
Mclean Museum & Art Gallery
15 Kelly Street
Greenock PA16 8JX
01475 715624
The McLean Museum and Art Gallery is one of the best municipal museums in Scotland. The museum has served as the main museum in the Inverclyde area since it opened in 1876 and has many wonderful collections for the visitor to discover and explore. In addition to outstanding collections of local material from the Inverclyde area, the museum offers displays and collections drawn from many cultures across 3,000 years of human history.
Paisley Museum including the Coats Observatory
High Street
Paisley PA1 2BA
0300 300 1210
Paisley Museum opened in 1871. The building was designed by the well-known Glasgow architect John Honeyman and was paid for by Sir Peter Coats of the famous Coats thread manufacturing family. Coats Observatory has astronomical equipment and displays, weather and earthquake recording equipment.
Renfrew Community Museum
The Brown Institute, 41 Canal Street
Paisley PA4 8QA
0141 886 3149
The museum opened in 1997 to commemorate 600 years of Renfrew as a Royal Burgh. It houses local history collections and also has changing exhibitions.
Renfrewshire Central Library
68 High Street
Paisley PA1 2BB
0141 889 2360
Information about local and family history resources in Renfrewshire.
Renfrewshire Family History Society
c/o Museum and Art Galleries, High Street
Paisley PA1 2BA
renfrewshirefhs.co.uk
Renfrewshire Family History Society exists to promote the study of family history, based on the County of Renfrewshire.
Sma’ Shot Cottages
11-17 George Place
Paisley PA1 2HZ
0141 889 1708
www.smashot.co.uk
An opportunity to see two distinct periods in Paisley’s weaving history. From Shuttle Street you will enter the Weaver’s Cottage and be transported back in time by nearly 250 years. You will then cross a yard behind the cottage and jump forward in time by 70 years to experience life in the town during the early to mid 1800s.
Weaver’s Cottage
The Cross
Kilbarchan PA10 2JG
01505 705 588
www.nts.org.uk
This restored historic 18th-century cottage near Glasgow vividly recreates the living and working conditions of a typical handloom weaver.