Museums, archives and heritage in Renfrewshire

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

goo.gl/QTe0Yh

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

goo.gl/LR97Pb

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

www.renfrewshire.gov.uk

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

goo.gl/BsBqAg

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.