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RENFREWSHIRE

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Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 100 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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RENFREWSHIRE , a See also:

south-western See also:county of See also:Scotland, bounded N. by the See also:river and See also:firth of See also:Clyde, E. by See also:Lanarkshire, S. and S.W. by See also:Ayrshire and W. by the firth of Clyde. A small detached portion of the See also:parish of See also:Renfrew, situated on the See also:northern See also:bank of the Clyde, is surrounded on the landward See also:side by See also:Dumbartonshire. The county has an See also:area of 153,332 acres, or 239.6 sq. m. Excepting towards the Ayrshire border on the south-See also:west, where the See also:principal heights are See also:Hill of Stake (1711 ft.), See also:East Girt Hill (16i3), Misty See also:Law (1663) and Creuch Hill (1446), and the confines of Lanarkshire on the south-east, where a few points attain an See also:altitude of 1200 ft.—the See also:surface is undulating rather than rugged. Much of the higher See also:land in the centre is well wooded. The Clyde forms See also:part of the northern boundary of the See also:shire. In the N.W. See also:Loch Thom and Gryfe See also:Reservoir provide See also:Greenock with See also:water, and Balgray Reservoir and Glen Reservoir reinforce the water-See also:supply of a portion of the See also:Glasgow area. The other lakes are situated in the S. and S.E. and include See also:Castle Semple Loch, See also:Long Loch, See also:Brother Loch, See also:Black from Glasgow by See also:Paisley to Greenock, See also:Gourock and See also:Wemyss See also:Bay; Loch, Binend Loch and Dunwan See also:Dam. The Glasgow, Paisley to°tBusby westward The toGlasgow d& nSouth-Western s railway urunsartos and See also:Johnstone See also:canal has been converted since 1882 into the track Greenock by Paisley, Johnstone and Kilmalcolm; to Nitshill and of the Glasgow & South-Western railway. Strathgryfe is the other places south-westwards; by Lochwinnoch (for See also:Dairy and only considerable vale in the shire. It extends from the See also:Ardrossan in Ayrshire); and to Renfrew jointly with the Cale-reservoir to below See also:Bridge of See also:Weir, a distance of ro m.

The donian. The Clyde and the railway steamers See also:

call at Renfrew, scenery at its See also:head is somewhat See also:wild and See also:bleak, but the See also:lower See also:Prince's See also:Pier (Greenock), Gourock and Wemyss Bay. reaches are pasture land. The wooded See also:ravine of Glenkillock, to the south of Paisley, is watered by Killock See also:Burn, on which are three falls. See also:Geology.—Carboniferous rocks See also:form the substratum of this county. The hilly ground from the neighbourhood of Eaglesham See also:north-westward is formed of volcanic rocks, basalts, porphyrites, tuffs and agglomerates of the See also:age of the Cementstone See also:group of the Calciferous See also:Sandstone See also:series. Here and there the sites of the volcanic cones are distinguishable, the best being those between Misty Law and Queenside See also:Muir. Beneath the volcanic rocks are some red sandstones and conglomerates which occupy a small See also:tract between Loch Thom and the neighbourhood of Inverkip. Resting upon the volcanic rocks is the Carboniferous See also:Limestone series which at the See also:base consists of ashy sandstones and grits followed by the three subdivisions prevalent in See also:southern Scotland. With unimportant exceptions, all the area north of the volcanic rocks is occupied by the Carboniferous Limestone series. The beds See also:lie in a faulted See also:basin around Linwood, and the following strata may be distinguished from below upwards: the Hurlet See also:coal and limestone, Lillies oil shale, Hosie limestone, Johnstone See also:clay ironstone and Cowglass See also:lime-See also:stone along with other beds of ironstone and coal. The sandstone of Giffnock, used for See also:building; the limestone and coal of See also:Orchard with a very fossiliferous shale See also:bed; and the limestone and coal of See also:Arden all belong to the same series.

Besides the contemporaneous volcanic rocks numerous intrusive sheets are found in the Carboniferous rocks such as the large See also:

mass of See also:basalt south of Johnstone and doleritic See also:sheet of Quarrelton and the similar sheets N.E. of Paisley. In the eastern part of the county, near the border the coals and ironstones of this series near Shawlands and Crossmyloof are faulted directly against the coal See also:measures of Rutherglen. See also:Tertiary basalt dikes cut the older rocks in a S.E.-N.W. direction, for example those on Misty Law. Glacial striae abound on the hilly ground, those in the north indicating that the See also:ice took a south-easterly direction which farther south became south-See also:westerly. See also:Boulder See also:clays, gravels and sands also See also:cover considerable areas. See also:Copper ore has been worked in the volcanic rocks near Lochwinnoch and in the See also:grey sandstones near Gourock. See also:Climate and See also:Agriculture.—The climate is variable. As the prevailing west and south-west winds come in from the See also:Atlantic warm and full of moisture, contact with the land causes heavy rains, and the western area of the shire is one of the wettest districts in Scotland, the mean See also:annual rainfall exceeding 6o in. The temperature for the See also:year averages about 48° F., for See also:January 38°.5 F., and for See also:July 58°.5 F. The hilly tract contains much See also:peat-See also:moss and moorland, but over those areas which are not thus covered the See also:soil, which is a See also:light See also:earth on a substratum of See also:gravel, is deep enough to produce See also:good pasture. In the undulating central region the soil is better, particularly in the basins of the streams, while on the See also:flat lands adjoining the Clyde there is a See also:rich See also:alluvium which, except when soured by excessive See also:rain, yields heavy crops. Of the See also:total area three-fifths is under cultivation, more than See also:half of this being permanent pasture.

Oats are grown extensively, and See also:

wheat and See also:barley are also cultivated. Potatoes, turnips and swedes, and beans are the leading See also:green crops. Near the populous centres orchards and See also:market gardens are found, and an increasing acreage is under See also:wood. Horses are kept mostly for farming operations, and the bulk of the See also:cattle are maintained in connexion with dairying. See also:Sheep-farming, though on the increase, is not prosecuted so vigorously as in the other southern counties of Scotland, and See also:pig-rearing is on the decline. Other See also:Industries.—Coal, See also:iron, oil-shale and fireclay are the principal minerals. Limestone is largely quarried for smelting purposes, and for the manufacture of lime. Sandstone is also quarried. The See also:thread See also:industry at Paisley.is the most important in the See also:world. See also:Cotton See also:spinning, See also:printing, See also:bleaching and See also:dyeing are carried on at Paisley, See also:Pollokshaws, Renfrew, See also:Barrhead and elsewhere; woollens and worsteds are produced at Paisley, Greenock and Renfrew. See also:Engineering See also:works and iron and See also:brass foundries are found at Greenock, See also:Port-Glasgow, Paisley, Renfrew, Barrhead and Johnstone. See also:Sugar is a See also:staple See also:article of See also:trade in Greenock and there are chemical works at Hurlet, Nitshill and Renfrew.

See also:

Brewing and distilling are carried on at Greenock, Paisley and other places. See also:Shipbuilding is especially important at Greenock and Port-Glasgow. See also:Paper See also:mills are established in Greenock, See also:Cathcart and Johnstone, and tanneries in Paisley and See also:Kilbarchan. Numerous See also:miscellaneous industries—such as the making of See also:starch, cornflour and preserves—have also grown up in Paisley and elsewhere. The See also:sea and river ports are Greenock, Port-Glasgow and Renfrew. Railway communication is ample in the north, the centre and towards the south-west. The Caledonian railway runs westwards See also:Population and See also:Administration.—In 1891 the population numbered 230,812, and in 1901 it was 268,980, or 1123 to the sq. m. In 1901 there were 40 persons who spoke Gaelic only and 5585 Gaelic and See also:English. Thus though the shire is but twenty-seventh in point of See also:size of the 33 Scottish counties, it is fifth in respect of population, and only Lanarkshire and See also:Mid See also:Lothian are more densely populated. The county is divided into the upper See also:ward, embracing the easterly two-thirds, with Paisley as See also:district centre, and the lower ward, consisting of the parishes of Inverkip, Greenock, Port-Glasgow and Kilmalcolm, with Greenock as district centre. The See also:chief towns are Paisley (pop. 79,363), Greenock (68,142), Port-Glasgow (16,857), Pollokshaws (11,369), Johnstone (x1,331), Barrhead (9855), Renfrew (9296), Gourock (5261), Cathcart (5808).

The shire returns one member to See also:

parliament for the eastern, and another for the western See also:division. Paisley and Greenock return each one member, and Renfrew and Port-Glasgow belong to the See also:Kilmarnock district group of See also:parliamentary burghs. Renfrew-shire forms a sheriffdom with See also:Bute, and there is a See also:resident See also:sheriff-substitute at Paisley and one at Greenock. The county is under school-See also:board See also:jurisdiction. For secondary and specialized See also:education there are an See also:academy at Greenock and a See also:grammar school and technical school at Paisley, while some of the See also:schools in the county See also:earn grants for higher education. The county secondary See also:committee also makes See also:provision for the See also:free education of Renfrewshire See also:children in Glasgow High School and the Spier School at Beith. The Paisley Technical School and the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical See also:College are subsidized out of the " See also:residue " See also:grant, part of which also defrays the travelling expenses of students and supports See also:science and See also:art and technological classes in the burghs and towns in the county. See also:History.—At the See also:time of the See also:Roman advance from the Solway the land was peopled by the See also:British tribe of Damnonii. To hold the natives in check the conquerors built in 84. the fort of Vanduara on high ground now covered by houses and streets in Paisley; but after the See also:Romans retired (410) the territory was overrun by Cumbrian Britons and formed part of the See also:kingdom of See also:Strathclyde, the See also:capital of which was situated at Alclyde, the See also:modern See also:Dumbarton. In the 7th and 8th centuries the region practically passed under the supremacy of See also:Northumbria, but in the reign of See also:Malcolm Canmore became incorporated with the See also:rest of Scotland. During the first half of the 12th See also:century, See also:Walter Fitzalan, high steward of Scotland, ancestor of the royal See also:house of See also:Stuart, settled in Renfrewshire on an See also:estate granted to him by See also:David I. Till their See also:accession to the See also:throne the Stuarts identified themselves with the district, which, however, was only disjoined from Lanarkshire in 1404.

In that year See also:

Robert III. erected the See also:barony of Renfrew and the Stuart estates into a See also:separate county, which, along with the earldom of Carrick and the barony of See also:King's Kyle (both in Ayrshire), was bestowed upon his son, afterwards See also:James I. From their grant are derived the titles of See also:earl of Carrick and See also:baron of Renfrew, See also:borne by the eldest son of the See also:sovereign. Apart from such isolated incidents as the defeat of Somerled near Renfrew in 1164, the See also:battle of Langside in 1568 and the See also:capture of the 9th earl of See also:Argyll at Inchinnan in 1685, the history of the shire is scarcely separable from that of Paisley or the neighbouring county of See also:Lanark.

End of Article: RENFREWSHIRE

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