Renfrew
| |
|---|---|
 Renfrew Town Hall and centre | |
 Arms of Renfrew Community Council | |
  Renfrew Renfrew Renfrew (Renfrewshire) Show map of Renfrewshire | |
| Population | 24,270 (2020)[2] |
| OS grid reference | NS519186 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Renfrew |
| Postcode district | PA4 |
| Dialling code | 0141 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 55°52′41″N4°23′20″W / 55.878°N 4.389°W /55.878; -4.389 | |
Renfrew (/ˈrɛnfruː/REN-froo;Scots:Renfrew;Scottish Gaelic:Rinn Friù) is a town 6 miles (10 km) west ofGlasgow in the westcentral Lowlands ofScotland. It is the historiccounty town ofRenfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of theRoyal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former royal house, Renfrew gainedroyal burgh status in 1397.
As the county town, Renfrew once was a centre oflocal government for the surrounding area. Whilst the county remained known as "Renfrewshire", the focus of local government gradually shifted from Renfrew to its larger neighbourPaisley.
Following thereorganisation of 1996, Renfrewshire was divided for local government purposes into three moderncouncil areas:Renfrewshire, with considerably smaller boundaries than the old county, including Renfrew and with its administrative centre at Paisley;Inverclyde with its centre atGreenock, covering the western part of the county; andEast Renfrewshire, with its centre atGiffnock. The boundaries of the historic County of Renfrew remain for a number of ceremonial and administrative purposes.
The House of Stewart was previously based out of the formerRenfrew Castle. In 1164, it was the site of theBattle of Renfrew, a decisive victory for theScottish crown overSomerled,Lord of the Isles. Given its link to the monarchy and the victory at Renfrew, theheir to the British throne holds the title ofBaron Renfrew and Lord of the Isles, the current holder beingPrince William,Duke of Rothesay.
Renfrew's historic industries include shipbuilding, given its position on the River Clyde and River Cart, and engineering. Today it primarily containsservice sector businesses, including the nearbyBraehead retail and leisure centre, built in 1999, which has resulted in the expansion of the town along Renfrew's riverside.
The name Renfrew comes from theOld Britishrhyn frwd meaning "point at the current"; theRiver Cart enters theClyde by the town.[3] Renfrew's recorded history began with the granting of land in the area toWalter fitz Alan, theHigh Steward of Scotland byKing David I in the 12th century. The strategic location of this castle was to prevent the eastern expansion of the lordship belonging toSomerled, theLord of the Isles, and to protect western Scotland from Norse invaders.[4]
Renfrew Castle was situated in what is now part of the well-known Braehead shopping complex. It was located on the King's inch or King's Island.[5]
Later in the 12th century,King Malcolm IV, grandson of David, finally demanded Somerled'sfealty. In 1164, Somerled sailed to Renfrew and attacked an assembling Scottish army in a conflict known as theBattle of Renfrew. The outcome was a defeat of the Lordship of the Isles and the death of Somerled.[6] The Lords of the Isles were eventually stripped of their lands and titles in 1493, as a consequence of conspiring with an earlierKing of England (Edward IV) to overthrow the Scottish monarchy. Since that time, "Lord of the Isles" - as with "Baron of Renfrew" - has been a courtesy title of the heir to the throne and both are currently held byWilliam, Duke of Rothesay.[7]
The role of the Stewarts continued to grow and in 1315Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward marriedMarjorie, daughter of KingRobert the Bruce. Their son succeeded to the throne asRobert II of Scotland.[8]
During theMonmouth Rebellion of 1685,Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll was injured and captured at Renfrew before being transported toEdinburgh and executed for his role in attempting to overthrow the Crown. The Argyle Stones in the town mark the site where his capture took place.[9]
During the night of 13 March 1941, three Polish airmen saved Renfrew's Roman Catholic church of Saint James. Lance Corporal Pawel Radke, Aircraftman Antoni Ptaszkowski, and Aircraftman Zygmunt Sokolowski were at the church and at great risk were extinguishing incendiaries. These had caused a number of fires in the church. Two of the airmen were killed by a bomb and the third died in Alexandria Hospital the following day. They were in their twenties. When 309 Squadron transferred toDunino inFife in May 1941, it presented to the church a portrait of Our Lady as a token of their appreciation to the people of Renfrew. Parishioners never forgot the sacrifice and in October 1982 at a special Mass, a silver plaque in memory of the airmen and the portrait of the Black Madonna was blessed and dedicated by Bishop McGill. The plaque was crafted by a local Polish jeweler, Eugeniusz Waclawski.[10]
At theGeneral Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2013, theRev Lorna Hood, minister at Renfrew North Parish Church and aChaplain to The Queen, becameModerator of the Assembly for the subsequent annual term.[11] Renfrew Old Parish Church, in the town centre, closed as a place of worship in 2013, due to building maintenance costs.[12]
Renfrew also has twoMasonic Lodges: Prince of Wales and Lodge Moorpark, numbers 426 and 1263 respectively, of the Roll of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.[13]
Although the town gives its name to the council area ofRenfrewshire and the largercounty of the same name which was used for local government before 1975, the administrative functions of both have in modern times been operated from the considerably larger neighbouring town ofPaisley.[14]
The early origins of Renfrewshire lie in the expanding influence of the Stewarts of Renfrew, the family holding the hereditaryHigh Stewardship of Scotland. In 1371,Robert Stewart was crownedKing of Scotland as Robert II and in 1402 his son, Robert III established the shire of Renfrew crafted from territory previously within theshire of Lanark and based out of Renfrew, the site of the Stewarts' castle.[5]
Renfrewshire'sCommissioners of Supply,Quarter Sessions andfreeholders met at Renfrew, as did thesheriff court until it was moved toPaisley in 1705. This began a gradual move in the focus of local government to Paisley. During this time, Renfrew continued to hold status not only as a royal burgh, but as aparliamentary,municipal andpolice burgh.[15]
Renfrew is now represented by its owncommunity council, which meets inRenfrew Town Hall.[16]
Renfrew was aparliamentary burgh as a component ofGlasgow Burghs from 1708 to 1832, and as a component ofKilmarnock Burghs from 1832 to 1918, when it was merged into theEast Renfrewshire constituency. Since 2005, it has been part of thePaisley and Renfrewshire North constituency.Gavin Newlands, SNP MP currently holds the seat for the constituency (2015–).[17][18]
In theScottish Parliament, Renfrew is part of the Renfrewshire North & West Constituency. Scottish Government Finance SecretaryDerek Mackay has held the seat for the SNP since 2011.[19]
TheM8 motorway intersects Renfrew and two junctions at Arkleston and Braehead provide access to the town, with the neighbouring town of Paisley largely lying on the opposite side. The formerRenfrew Airport was located to the south of the town (only a couple of miles from the presentGlasgow Airport). The site of the terminal building is now occupied by aTesco supermarket.[20]
In the early 21st century, as part of the wider 'Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside Project' involving regeneration and new residential developments,[21][22] a new moveable bridge known asThe Renfrew Bridge was proposed to connect Renfrew/Braehead to Yoker/Clydebank for vehicular traffic, using 'City Deal' funding.[23] The bridge project stalled at the planning stage in late 2018,[24] but construction was underway by early 2024,[25][26] with the bridge opening on 9 May 2025.[27]
.jpg)
Renfrew is served byMcGills buses andFirst Bus with services operating toBraehead Shopping Centre,Glasgow city centre as well as various routes that pass through Renfrew connecting toErskine,Paisley,Glasgow Airport, andGovan.[28]
Renfrew was also once served by aseries of stations on a branch of theGlasgow and Paisley Joint Railway. However it was closed to passengers in 1967.[29] The nearest present-day station isHillington West.
There are also Plans to connect Renfrew toGlasgow with a heavy metro line as part of the proposedClyde Metro Project.[30]
TheRenfrew ferry, was a ferry service linking Renfrew and Yoker together with the crossing only taking a few minutes. The service was replaced by the Renfrew Bridge shortly after opening.[31]
The service initially continued operating after the bridge opened on 9 May 2025.[27] However later on 31 May 2025 the ferry permanently ceased operations citing the bridge opening resulting in reduced passenger numbers to the point where the service was unsuitable to operate.[31][32][33]
Renfrew Football Club plays at New Western Park in theWest of Scotland Football League First Division.[citation needed]
Notable people from Renfrew include:
The major industry of Renfrew was previouslyshipbuilding. Simons andLobnitz, most notable for building sanddredgers were based in the town. The Renfrew shipyard closed in the early 1960s.[35]
Further expansion of Renfrew's economy took place in 1938 with the opening of Hillington industrial estate, now named Hillington Park, not to be confused with the neighbouringHillington housing estate which falls within the city of Glasgow's boundaries.[36]
Renfrew is home to the engineering companyDoosan Babcock (formerly Babcock & Wilcox), theKing George V Dock and theBraehead out-of-town retail development.[37]
Renfrew is at the confluence of theRiver Clyde and theRiver Cart. A passengerferry previously crossed the Clyde toYoker, now the Renfrew Bridge spans the Clyde toClydebank and Yoker. Abascule bridge spans the Cart toInchinnan andGlasgow Airport.King's Inch andSand Inch islands once lay off the river bank of the Clyde on the southern side until they became joined with the 'mainland' and they are now part of Renfrew.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
