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Renfrew,
Renfrewshire, Scotland
From The Topographical, Statistical, and Historical
Gazetteer of Scotland ”.
A. Fullarton and Co., Edinburgh; London ; and Dublin .
1847
RENFREW, a parish in the county of the same name,
bounded on the north by the parishes of West and East
Kilpatrick in Dumbartonshire; on the east chiefly by
Govan in Lanarkshire; on the south by the Abbey parish
of Paisley; and on the west by the rivers Black Cart and
Gryfe, which separate it from Kilbarchan and Inchinnan.
Its greatest length is about 6 miles; greatest breadth 2
¾ miles; contents 3,776 imperial acres. Its figure is
very irregular, and is further broken by the
intersection of the rivers Clyde and White Cart, and -
for a short distance - of a canal which runs alongside
of the latter. Fully one third of the parish is on the
north side of the Clyde , with which portion
communication is maintained by row-boats for foot
passengers, and by a large vessel, open at both ends,
and moved along a chain by a hand-windlass, for cattle,
carts and carriages. The canal is crossed by a strong
swing bridge, and the White and Black Carts by a
handsome stone-bridge at their confluence at Inchinnan.
On the south of the Clyde , the surface is almost
perfectly level, there being only one noticeable
acclivity, which is dignified by the appellation of
Knock - ‘a little hill’. North of that river, the ground
rises into low conical eminences, with flat land between
and around them. The soil on both sides is, for the most
part, deep, fertile, and alluvial. The parish wears a
pleasing and cheerful aspect, nearly the whole being in
a state of cultivation, while the landscape is
beautified by several mansion-houses with plantations,
and enlivened by the many vessels, impelled by wind and
steam, that hourly float along the brimming waters of
the Clyde .
In the lands of Scotston and Jordanhill, on the north
side of that river, coal has long been wrought. At Yoker,
on the same side, but lower down, there is an extensive
distillery manufacturing whisky from malt; and near it
the trustees for the improvement of the river have their
chief establishment of artificers and labourers. The
parish is traversed by no less than six public roads
which are of obvious utility.
- The population, including the burgh, was, in 1801,
2,031; in 1821, 2,646; and in 1841, 3,076. Families, in
1841, 633; giving an average of 4.86 to each. The annual
value of real property for which the parish was
assessed, in 1851, exclusive of the burgh, was £7,128.
- The parish is in the presbytery of Paisley , and
synod of Glasgow and Ayr ; Patron, the Crown. The date
of erection of the church is unknown. It was enlarged
and repaired in 1726, at an expense of £225 12s. 1d.;
and was refitted with seats in 1820, at an expense of
£865. Sittings 750, exclusive of the family gallery of
the principal heritor. Stipend £277 18s. 3d.; glebe £54.
Unappropriated teinds £171 7s. 11d. There is no regular
place of worship in the parish, except the Established
church, to which the usual proportion of 8-9ths of the
population professed to adhere, in 1836.
- Besides five private schools, there is a considerable
seminary, which originated under the following
circumstances: - In 1838, soon after the death of
Archibald Campbell, Esq., of Blythswood, Lord-lieutenant
and Convener of Renfrewshire, a meeting of the nobility
and gentry, and other friends of the deceased, was held,
at which it was resolved “to transmit to posterity some
lasting mark of the high and grateful sense which the
county at large entertained of the public services and
private worth of Mr. Campbell.” Subscriptions were
entered into, and a committee was appointed for the
purpose of carrying this resolution into effect. The
committee having determined that the monument should be
a building combining some institution of public utility
with the preservation of Mr. Campbell’s memory, they
entered into an agreement with the town-council of
Renfrew, by which an institution for the education of
youth was to be erected out of the money subscribed, and
the council - besides giving a site - were to endow and
support the institution. A handsome edifice, called “The
Blythswood Testimonial,” was accordingly finished in
1842. It stands on the west of the burgh, near the
domains of the estimable gentleman of whom it forms so
appropriate a memorial. This seminary may be considered
as coming in the place of the parochial or
grammar-school, for which provision was made by a
charter of James VI. in 1614.
In the parish, as we have already intimated, there are
some handsome mansions. Blythswood house is finely
situated upon the point of land where the united streams
of the Carts and Gryfe mingle their waters with those of
the Clyde . The prospect here was pronounced by Pennant
- “the most elegant and the softest of any in North
Britain .” The house is constructed of the finest white
freestone, - the east front presenting a portico of four
columns in the Ionic order. It was built, in 1821, by
the above-mentioned Archibald Campbell, Esq., who died
in 1838, and was succeeded by his relative, Archibald
Douglas, Esq. of Mains, who now holds the name and title
of ‘Campbell of Blythswood.’ The original name of this
property was Renfield, - and it had an old house upon it
so called. When the present mansion was built, it
received the name of Blythswood, in honour of a small
but now very valuable estate belonging to the family, on
which a great part of the north-western portion of
Glasgow is built.
- At the confluence of the Black Cart and the Gryfe are
the house and lands of Walkinshaw, long the seat of an
ancient family of that name, but now belonging to
William Maxwell Alexander, Esq., and others. The house
is modern, and stands among full-grown wood.
- Jordanhill, the seat of James Smith, Esq., F.R.S.,
occupies an eminence on the north of the Clyde , about a
mile from the river, and commands an extensive and
agreeable prospect. It was built about the year 1782,
but has since been much improved. The estate of
Jordanhill anciently belonged to the Crawfords, one of
whom was that Captain Thomas Crawford who surprised, and
took by escalade, the castle of Dumbarton , in the year
1571.
- Near the river, on the same side, is Scotston, an
ancient inheritance of a branch of the Montgomeries,
which, after being held by several families, was
purchased in the 18th century by Richard and Alexander
Oswald, merchants in Glasgow . It now belongs to Miss
Oswald. The house is modern.
-Elderslie-house, the seat of Mr. Speirs, has been
noticed under the article ELDERSLIE.
This parish is distinguished for its connexion with the
illustrious house of Stewart. The lands of Renfrew are
the first-mentioned of the estates specified in the
charter granted by King Malcolm IV. in 1157, in favour
of Walter, the founder of that family, whereby he
confirmed a grant which had been made by King David, who
reigned from 1124 to 1153. The office of high steward of
Scotland was also conferred on Walter and his
successors, who from thence took the surname of Stewart,
often, but incorrectly, spelt Stuart. At Renfrew they
had their earliest and usual residence; and from this
corner of the land, therefore, there issued a race which
successively ascended the thrones of Scotland and
England .
Their mansion stood on a slightly elevated piece of
ground, on the west side of the road leading from the
town to the ferry. It no longer exists, but the site is
still called Castlehill. Within the recollection of many
living, there was a deep fosse partially round the site,
strengthened with stone on the inner side, and having a
small rivulet passing through it. Part of the
foundations having been lately dug up, several rings and
a key were found. Adjacent are lands which still bear
the names of ‘The Orchard’ and the ‘Kings Meadow;’ also
a small street called ‘The Dog-row,’ meaning the place
where the kennel was. This street we have seen mentioned
as a boundary in a deed dated in the early part of the
15th century.
- Somerled, Lord of the Isles, who had risen in
rebellion against King Malcolm IV., was defeated and
slain at Renfrew in 1164. The mount, with a stone at the
top, noticed by Pennant (vol iii. p. 151), as
traditionally reported to be the memorial of Somerled’s
fall, and the place of his interment, no longer exists.
- The lands of Knock - so called from the hill already
mentioned - at one time belonged to the Knoxes of
Ranfurly, from who the Reformer was descended; and from
this place the surname of Knox may be derived. Semple
says (p. 30) that in 1782 there was dug up here a part
of an urn, with some human bones, and that about 36
years previously, what was supposed to be a Roman urn
was found at this place. In the New Statistical Account
(p. 17) it is said that, in 1778, two urns, containing
human ashes, and believed to be Roman, were dug up here;
but this is probably Semple’s account in a different
form. The spot is little more than a mile from the site
of the Roman station at Paisley . The lower edge of the
hill is, to this day, called ‘the Butts,’ - most
probably because it was a place for the practice of
archery.
But the Knock is chiefly remarkable on account of an
accident which tradition tells befell Lady Marjory
Bruce, daughter of King Robert Bruce, and wife of Walter
the Steward, in the year 1316. It is said that the
Princess, when far advanced in pregnancy, was thrown
from her horse and killed at this place, but that the
life of the child was saved, which child, long
afterwards, ascended the throne as Robert II. Till the
year 1779, there stood here an octagonal column, about
10 feet in height, inserted in a pedestal also
eight-sided, and about 6 feet in diameter. It had
neither inscription nor sculpture, but went by the name
of ‘Queen Bleary’s Cross,’ or ‘Stane,’ and, according to
unvarying tradition, supported by Crawford (p. 61), was
commemorative of the above unhappy accident.
- Another occurrence, much more recent and better
authenticated, is commemorated by a large stone which
stands on the estate of Renfield or Blythswood, close to
the high road leading from Renfrew to Inchinnan-bridge.
At this spot, the Earl of Argyll was wounded and taken
prisoner after the failure of his ill-conducted
enterprise in 1685. It consists of a fragment of rock,
weighing probably a couple of tons, and contains some
reddish veins, which (as the Earl leant upon it after
being wounded) were long believed to be the stains of
his blood.
RENFREW, a royal burgh, and the capital of Renfrewshire,
is situated within half-a-mile of the south bank of the
Clyde , nearly 3 miles north of Paisley , and 6 miles
west of Glasgow . It is certainly the most ancient town
in the county, being traceable as far back as the reign
of David I. It was constituted a royal burgh by Robert
III, in 1396. The town is very small, consisting only of
a single street, about half-a-mile in length, with some
lanes. At the cross, near the west end, stand the
town-house and jail, with a spire and clock. North of
this is an excellent gas work, erected by the community
in 1841. The town maintains an almost stationary state,
and has a neat and comfortable look. The inhabitants are
chiefly occupied in the weaving of silks and muslins;
and there is a bleachfield, and a starch manufactory.
The community have long enjoyed the exclusive privilege
of fishing salmon in the Clyde , within certain
extensive limits. In the 16th century, according to
Bishop Lesley, they often had 60 boats so employed
during the whole of the spring and summer (not “all the
year round,” as his language has been erroneously
translated). Crawfurd says that Renfrew had once a
little foreign trade; but that when he wrote in 1710,
the chief traffic was with Ireland . The burgh must of
old have plumed itself on account of its occupation on
the waters; for its arms represent a ship, with the
motto, ‘Deus gubernat navem. ‘ At present there are no
vessels belonging to Renfrew, except such as carry
coals, manure, &c., on the river. The salmon fishery is
still prosecuted; but the fish have greatly decreased in
quantity. A branch of the Clyde at one time ran close to
the town, on the north; but the river deserted this
channel in the 17th century, or perhaps more recently;
and the town now communicates with the Clyde by a small
canal, formed about the year 1785, partly in the old bed
of the river. A commodious quay was built in 1835, at an
expense of £800; and about 100 yards below it, is the
terminus of a railway to Paisley , opened in 1837.
No place, perhaps, in the west of Scotland , is so
peculiarly healthy as Renfrew. Epidemical distempers are
hardly ever known. For this, two reasons have been
assigned. The one is, that the town stands upon a bed of
sand of great depth, so that the rain is soon absorbed,
and damps and fogs are hardly ever felt. The other
reason is the peculiar excellence of the water.
The royalty of the burgh is very extensive. It stretches
down the Clyde as far as the river Cart in the direction
of the Greenock road, as far as Inchinnan-bridge, about
a mile from the cross, and in the direction of Paisley
about a mile-and-a-half. The parliamentary boundary is
much more limited, but appears to afford room for any
probable extension of the town. There is a portion of
ground within the parliamentary boundary, but excluded
from the royalty, though entirely surrounded by it. This
ground, which is now partly built upon, is that called
the Orchard and Castlehill, which has been noticed in
the account of the parish, as having formed the
residence of the Stewarts.
The property of the burgh, in reference to its size and
population, is large and valuable. It consists of farms,
pasture-lands, fishings in the Clyde , the ferry across
that river, houses and gardens, canal and harbour dues,
seats in the church, feu-duties, &c. The Commissioners
on Municipal Corporations, in 1833, reported that no
valuation of this property had been made, but that the
total annual revenue at that time was £1,448 12s. 7d. In
1841 it had increased to £1,683 7s. 9 ½d.
Before the burgh reform act of 1833, the mode of
election in Renfrew was one of pure self-nomination. The
last provost under the old system, Mr. Robert King, was
constantly re-elected, and filled the office for 24
years continuously. It must be acknowledged, however,
that although tenacious of office, the worthy
functionary bore his faculties meekly; and
notwithstanding the extravagant tavern-bills, for which
this petty burgh was long noted, his administration
must, upon the whole, have been prudent and judicious, -
for it appears that by the Commissioners’ Report, that,
during the last 16 years of his sway, the debt due by
the corporation was reduced to the extent of one-half.
The council consists of a provost, 2 bailies, a
treasurer, and 15 ordinary members. The provost is ex
officio a deputy-lieutenant of the county. The only
incorporated trade is that of the tailors. Renfrew was
formerly associated with Glasgow, Dumbarton, and
Rutherglen, in returning a member to Parliament; - by
the Reform Act it is united with Kilmarnock , Dumbarton,
Port-Glasgow, and Rutherglen. In 1841, the parliamentary
constituency of Renfrew was 95, the municipal 88, - and
the population, within the parliamentary boundaries,
2,013. The assessed value of real property within the
burgh, in 1815, was £2,955.
There are three fairs annually, chiefly for the sale of
cattle. The magistrates hold a court weekly on Saturday,
which is also the market day. The meetings of
quarter-sessions, commissioners of supply, and
freeholders, are held at Renfrew as the county town.
This was also the seat of the sheriff court till 1705,
when it was transferred to Paisley .
[1] The derivation of this name from the ancient
language of the country seems liable to little doubt. In
the British, Rhyn means a point of land, and Frew or
Fraw, a flow of water. These words are strikingly
applicable to the site of the town of Renfrew , on a
point of land between the rivers Clyde and cart, which
unite their waters about a mile below. The angular piece
of land formed by their junction, is called Renfield,
affording an instance of the ancient and modern
languages in combination. Vulgarly, the word is
pronounced Arenthrow, and in conformity, in some
measure, to this, we find Principal Bailie in his
‘Letters’, written in the 17th century, spelling it
Baranthrow and Baranfrow.
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