The growth of Paisley

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Paisley began as a small settlement on the banks of the River Cart. St Mirin built a church there in the 6th century, and later in the 12th century a monastery was established. The monastery became Paisley Abbey. The village of Paisley flourished as pilgrims came to visit the shrine of St Mirin.

By the late 15th century Paisley had grown bigger than its local rival, Renfrew. Renfrew, however, was a Royal Burgh and Paisley had to pay customs and tolls to its rival. In 1488 King James IV agreed to a plea from the Abbot George Schaw of Paisley and granted a charter (pictured below) to make Paisley a Burgh of Barony. Although not as prestigious as a Royal Burgh, this allowed Paisley to trade freely and collect taxes, and the village continued to expand.

By the middle of the 18th century, Paisley's population was close to 7,000 and there was an urgent need for more housing. The Burgh of Paisley had been built on the west bank of the river; now building began on the east bank on land that had previously been the Abbey gardens.

The streets in the new town were named after materials from the thriving weaving trade: Silk, Lawn, Gauze, Cotton, Thread and Incle.

In the 19th century industrialisation advanced so rapidly that the provision of new housing failed to keep up. The population rose as immigrants arrived to work in the town's booming textile industry, and the town became overcrowded. The available housing was gathered close to the town centre factories and living conditions were poor for much of the population. This photograph shows slum buildings clustered close to the abbey. To escape the squalor, the manufacturing classes built themselves villas on the outer edges of town, such as at Castlehead and Renfrew Road.

The Scottish Housing Act of 1919 allowed the local authority to act as landlord, and council building programmes to tackle overcrowding began in the 1920s. Initially the built up area was expanded out as far as Ferguslie, Lochfield and Whitehaugh. This picture shows Whitehaugh in 1931.

Paisley's boundaries were extended again in 1946 out to the Gleniffer Braes in the south, and northwards to the new schemes of Gockston and Shortroods. The pictures below show the lands of Foxbar in 1903 and the Foxbar tower blocks in the 1960s. The housing schemes of Foxbar and Glenburn were designed as 'neighbourhood units'.

The neighbourhood units contained community halls and shops, and a mixture of housing types. Tower blocks were used to maximise the numbers accommodated on small plots of land.

Paisley continues to develop and grow today. Many new houses and schools are being built, and there are plans for the regeneration of the town centre.

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The growth of Paisley