Special collections

The Local Studies Library has several unique collections of interest to people researching local history and tracing their family history.

Our collections include:

census returns covering Renfrewshire area from 1841, and each ten years until 1901

Old Parish Records (OPRs) covering Renfrewshire area. These records contain information on births, marriages and some deaths prior to 1855
Poor Law volumes for Paisley (1839 - 1930), a major source of family history information
Trade Directories, dating from around 1810 - 1937, containing information about the development of the community and its businesses and organisations
Paisley Weavers, Hammermen and Tailors records, minute books for these societies
Sasines, Confirmations and Inventories. The collection contains Sasines for Renfrewshire from 1781 until 1947 and the Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories for Scotland between 1877 and 1936
Monumental Inscriptions and mortcloth records, containing inscriptions from gravestones in Renfrewshire for pre 1855 deaths and the records for the use of the Abbey of Paisley mortcloth for 1759 - 1819
Paisley Pamphlets a collection of memorabilia dating from 1739 - 1893
The Cairn of Lochwinnoch giving a lively picture of life in Lochwinnoch and the surrounding area during the period 1827 - 1854
Electoral registers, Voters' rolls and valuation rolls, with the earliest electoral records from 1834 and valuation rolls from 1875
Poll Tax rolls of 1695 and Hearth Tax records of 1691. Records for the taxes introduced to raise money for the armed forces

local newspapers, the collection starts in 1824 and runs to present day
postcard collection covering all the towns and villages in Renfrewshire
local authority minutes, including early historical Council minutes, from 1594, to present day

historical Renfrewshire maps, a wide collection of maps and plans of Renfrewshire from around 1490 to present day
historical demographic and statistical information covering the towns and villages in Renfrewshire

Please contact us if you would like any further information about our collections.

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