Churches.--The most prominent of the churches is of course the part of the old Abbey of Paisley which is still used as the parish church for Abbey parish. The remains of the Abbey are on the E side of the Cart opposite the Clark Hall. It was founded about 1163 by Walter, High Steward of Scotland, for monks of the Cluniac order of reformed Benedictines, and its first inmates came from the Cluniac priory of Wenlock in Shropshire, the High Steward's native county. They were originally settled at Renfrew, but afterwards transferred their place of residence to Paisley, where, finding a church already dedicated to St. Mirren or Mirinus, a confessor who is said to have spent a considerable part of his life at the place, and who, according to the Aberdeen Breviary, was buried there, they combined his name with those of St. James and of their patron saint at Wenlock, St. Milburga, grand-daughter of Penda, king of Mercia, and so dedicated the monastery church to St. James, St. Milburga, and St. Mirren. The monastery was so richly endowed by the founder and his successors, as well as by the Lords of Lennox, that it soon became one of the most opulent houses in Scotland, none surpassing it except St. Andrews, Kelso, Dunfermline, and Arbroath. Until 1219 it was only a priory, but it then received a bull from Pope Honorius constituting it an Abbey and separating it from the parent house at Wenlock, a privilege confirmed in 1334 by Pope Benedict, who declared the abbot entitled to wear a mitre and ring, and the other marks of his dignity. What may have been the nature of the original buildings it is impossible to tell, for they were burned by the English in 1307 during the war of independence, and seem to have been almost entirely destroyed, and, notwithstanding that the Stewarts had their residence at hand, and that the abbey was their family burial-place before their accession, and even occasionally afterwards, for both the queens of Robert II. were buried here as well as Robert III., but little seems to have been done towards rebuilding or repair till the 15th century, although in 1380 a charter was obtained from Robert II. erecting the lands of the abbey in Dumbartonshire into a jurisdiction of regality, and another from Robert III. in 1396 erecting the estates in Renfrew, Ayr, Roxburgh, and Peebles into a similar jurisdiction. The powers of the abbot were afterwards still further extended in 1452 by James II., who granted to the regality court the power of trying the four crown pleas; and again in 1488 by James IV., who added the power of `repleging' the tenants and inhabitants of the abbey estates from the king's courts. The greater part of the buildings now existing seem to have been erected by Abbot Thomas Tervas, who died in 1459, and Abbot George Shaw (1472-99). Of the former the Auchinleck Chronicle says that he `wes ane richt gud man and helplyk to the place of ony that ever wes, for he did mony notabil things and held ane nobil hous and wes ay wele purvait. He fand the place al out of gud reule and destitute of leving and al the kirkis in lordis handis and the kirk unbiggit. The body of the kirk fra the bucht stair up he biggit, and put on the ruf and theekit it with sclats, and riggit it with stane, and biggit ane great porcioun of the steple and ane staitlie yet hous, and brocht hame mony gud jowellis and clathis of gold, silver, and silk, and mony gud bukis, and made statelie stallis and glassynnit mekle of al the kirk, and brocht hame the staitliest tabernakle that wes in al Skotland, and the maist costlie; and schortlie he brocht al the place to fredome and fra nocht till ane michty place and left it out of al kind of det and al fredome, till dispone as them lykit, and left ane of the best myteris that was in Skotland, and chandillaris of silver and ane lettren of brass with mony uther gud jowellis.' Abbot George Shaw, a younger son of Shaw of Sauchie in Stirlingshire, besides adding to the buildings, surrounded the abbey gardens and grounds by a magnificent stone wall, which ran from the N transept along the line of Lawn Street to the Wall Neuk, where it turned and ran along the line of Inkle Street; it then turned to the S by the edge of Mill Road till it terminated at the Pigeon-house on the edge of the Cart, close to the waterfall at Seedhill mills. A stone with the inscription in old English characters--

taken from the wall was formerly placed over the lintel of the door of a dwelling house at the corner of Lawn Street and Inkle Street, but it is now fixed to the wall E of the door of the Public Library. The fifth line of the inscription was effaced by order, it is said, of one of the presbyterian ministers of the burgh, who thought it savoured too much of prayer for the dead. Grose says that in his time there was at one of the corners of the wall a statue of the Virgin with the motto below:--

The wall remained nearly entire till 1781, when the Earl of Abercorn sold the stones to the feuars of the New Town, who used them for building their houses, and a portion near Seedhill Bridge remained till after the middle of the 19th century. The first tower that was erected seems to have had insecure foundations, as it fell. The last abbot, John Hamilton (1525-45), rebuilt it at immense cost, but about the close of the century it again `fell with its own weight, and with it the Quire of the church;' at least so says Hamilton of Wishaw, but another account states that it was struck by lightning. In 1557 a body of Reformers attacked the abbey, burnt all the ymages and ydols and popish stuff in the same,' and drove the monks out of the building, but owing to the somewhat unusual attachment of the people to the old faith, the abbey was `steyked' against the reforming preachers, and in 1563 the charge was brought against the abbot of `in the town of Paslay, Kirkyard and Abbey place thereof, openlie, publiclie, and plainlie, taking auricular confession in the said kirk, toun, kirkyaird, chalmeries, barns, middens, killogies thereof,' but he seems to have got off lightly. Although John Hamilton had properly ceased to be abbot in 1545, he retained the abbacy, by consent of the queen, in trust for his nephew, Lord Claud Hamilton. He adhered to the cause of Queen Mary, and was consequently in 1568 declared a traitor by Regent Murray, and in 1571 captured and hanged. Lord Claud, having been present at the battle of Langside in the Queen's interest, was forfeited, and the lands of the abbey were bestowed on Robert, son of William Lord Sempil, till 1585, when Lord Claud returned from England and was restored to his property and rights. Two years later the whole property which he had held hitherto merely as commendator, was erected into a temporal lordship, and granted to him and his heirs and assigns in fee, while he himself was created Lord Paisley. In 1652, his grandson and successor, the second earl, sold his opulent lordship to the Earl of Angus, from whom next year the larger part of it was purchased by Lord Cochrane, afterwards Earl of Dundonald. Large portions were at different times sold by the Dundonald family, and in 1764 what remained was repurchased from Thomas, eighth Earl of Dundonald, by James, eighth Earl of Abercorn, to whose descendant, the Duke of Abercorn, it now belongs.
     The church, when entire, appears to have consisted of a nave, choir, N transept, and a chapel known as the chapel of St. Mirren and St. Columba, which occupies the place where the S transept should have been. The total outside length of the building has been 265 feet. Internally the nave is 93 feet long and 591/2 wide, including side aisles. The choir, which has no aisles, is 1231/2 feet long and 32 wide; and the transept is 35 feet wide, and the distance from the N wall to the wall of St. Mirren's chapel is 921/2 feet, all these measurements being internal. The walls of the choir only rise a foot or two above the level of the ground, but the piscina and sedilia still remain, as well as the foundations of the pillars on which rose the central tower. The N transept, with its magnificent and finely traceried window, 25 feet high and 18 wide, was saved from demolition with so much of the rest of the building, by being claimed about 1758 by the heritors as their property. Within the choir lie the remains of King Robert III. and Marjory his daughter. When Queen Victoria visited Paisley in 1888, as already mentioned, she caused a recumbent Gothic cross of Sicilian marble to be placed over the royal tomb in commemoration of her visit. The nave, the only part now roofed, is still used as the parish church of Abbey parish. The W front contains a doorway with an arcade on each side, and on one side is a turret with a staircase. Above the doorway are three windows. The present eastern gable of the church is in the centre merely a screen of modern masonry filling up the arch beneath the western wall of the centre tower. There is a porch at the W end of the N wall and at the E end of the S wall. On the wall of the former is a stone with the inscription in old English characters--

The interior of the nave is fine, and the style of the triforium is somewhat peculiar. On each side five massive clustered columns, 17 feet in height, divide the nave from the aisles, and the pillar on each side at the W end is much thicker than the others, as if they had been meant originally to support the weight of western towers. `From the imposts of the columns spring pointed arches with delicate and graceful mouldings. On the centre pillar to the south is sculptured in relief an antique coat of arms with grotesque supporters. From a floor formed above the first tier of arches spring those of the triforium. They are large and semicircular, springing trout clustered columns.' Within these arches are included two pointed ones, with a short column between, and the space between the heads of these minor arches and that of the principal arch is open and finely cusped. From the top of the spandrils between each pair of arches a semi-hexagonal projection stands out supported by a double row of blocked corbels, which in their turn are supported by grotesque figures that seem as if groaning under the weight. The breadth of the triforium arches, as compared with their height, gives this part of the building a somewhat squat, not to say ungraceful look. In the clerestory over each circular triforium arch are two windows, and the clerestory gallery, while passing through the wall over the keystone of each triforium arch, passes out round the semi-hexagonal projection already mentioned, no doubt to afford a perfectly solid wall over each of the nave pillars, so that there may be firmer support for the roof. The whole style is Decorated. On the SW pillar are the old colours carried by the Renfrewshire militia from 1803 to 1855; and built into the walls are some old monuments removed from the floor. The original roof was finely groined, but of this only a small portion near the W end of the S aisle now remains. The whole nave underwent repair in 1788-89, but until about twenty years ago it remained in a very miserable condition. `In 1859,' says Dr. Cameron Lees, the historian of the Abbey, `when I was inducted to the second charge, a more dreary place of worship it was impossible to conceive. It was like a charnel house. The burial-ground outside reached above the sill of the windows. The floor was earthen, and you were afraid if you stirred your foot you would rake up some old bones that lay uncomfortably near the surface.' Thanks to the exertions of the Rev. Mr. Watson and of Dr. Lees himself, several thousand pounds were collected and spent in remedying this state of things. The interior was cleared out and new pews put in. An organ was introduced, and many of the windows are now filled with stained glass, the principal being windows to the memory of Mr. Thomas Coats of Ferguslie, the Speirses of Elderslie, the Earl of Glasgow, and the Whites of Overtoun. One, placed as a memorial of Sir William Wallace, was inserted by the St. Andrew's Society of Glasgow. In the W end of the N aisle is a mural tablet, apparently erected to the memory of John Hamilton, the last abbot. The chapel of St. Mirren and St. Columba, better known as the Sounding Aisle, is on the S side on the site of the S transept. It is about 48 feet long by 24 wide, and the 15 feet of the floor at the E end is higher than the rest. This chapel was founded and endowed in 1499 by James Crawfurde of Kylwynnat, burgess of Paisley, and Elizabeth Galbraith his spouse, who were buried within the church, where their tombstone is still to be seen. The lands given for the support of the chaplain were those of Seedhill and Wellmeadow. Near the SE corner is the piscina, and beneath the great eastern window the altar had stood. Beneath the window is a frieze, with three carved compartments on the N side and seven on the S side. What the figures represent is doubtful, but probably the seven on the S represent the seven sacraments, viz., matrimony, communion, extreme unction, ordination, confirmation, penance, and baptism. The eastern window is now filled with stained glass, placed there by the Duke of Abercorn in 1879 in memory of those members of the Abercorn family who are here buried, the family vault being beneath. There are other two monuments connected with the Abercorn family, but the great object of interest is the altar tomb known as Queen Bleary's tomb, and believed to have been erected in memory of Marjory Bruce, wife of Walter the High Steward, and only daughter of Robert Bruce, who was killed by a fall from her horse at Knock, to the north of the town. According to Dr. Boog, one of the ministers of the parish, who wrote all account of it in the Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for 1831, this tomb has had rather a curious history. `It retained,' he says, `its original situation till John, Earl of Dundonald, who succeeded his brother William in 1704, having for his second lady married the Duchess-Dowager of Beaufort, her grace wishing, it is said, to have the chapel fitted up for the service of the Church of England, the tomb was then removed and placed in a corner of the Abbey Garden. This must have been prior to 1720, when Earl John died; his lady survived but a short time. The tomb, rebuilt in its original form, occupied this corner till the time that Thomas, Earl of Dundonald, resolving to feu off that part of the garden, found it in his way, and had it again removed or rather taken to pieces; and the stones of which it was composed were then laid aside and forgotten--so much forgotten that the writer of this, whose connection with Paisley took place in 1774, was above fourteen years in the place before knowing that such a monument had existed, or that its materials might possibly be discovered.' When the church was repaired, however, in 1788-89, the stones were found, and Dr. Boog, with a care that does him the highest credit, had them carefully put together, though it was found that one side stone and one end stone were awanting. The figure itself had been left in the chapel, sunk in the pavement close by one of the walls. Whether it represents Lady Marjory or not must remain doubtful, but the fine carvings show that the person to whose memory the tomb had been raised must have been of high rank. It is certainly peculiar that the figures on the sides should be those of ecclesiastics. From the presence of a shield charged with a lion rampant some have imagined that it is the tomb of Euphemia Ross, wife of Robert II., but the lion rampant is also the cognisance of the family of Stewart of Blackhall, lineally descended from Robert III. The elaborately carved canopy at the head is particularly noteworthy and uncommon. A suspicion might arise that it does not belong to the tomb, and may have originally been over a canopied figure, but a minute inspection does not bear this out, and the top of the canopy, which in such a case would not be seen, is hero elaborately carved with a representation of the crucifixion.
      The popular name of the `Sounding Aisle' is applied to the chapel on account of the wonderful echo, which was first described by Pennant with a considerable amount of exaggeration. `The echo,' he says in his Tour, `is the finest in the world. When the end door, the only one it has, is gently shut, the noise is equal to a loud peal of thunder. If you strike a single note of music you hear the same gradually ascending with a countless number of repetitions. If a good voice sings, or a musical instrument is well played on, the effect is inexpressibly fascinating, and almost of a celestial character. When a musical instrument is sounded it has the effect of a number of instruments of a like size and kind played in concert. A single instrument sounding a particular note, and then instantly its fifth or any other concordant note, both sounds can be heard, as it were, running into and uniting with each other in a manner particularly agreeable. But the effect of a variety of instruments playing in concert is transcendingly enchanting, and excites such emotions in the soul as to baffle the most vivid description,' and there is a good deal more to the same effect. Either, however, Pennant was particularly keen-eared when he was at Paisley, or the reconstruction of the large altar tomb has injuriously affected the echo; at any rate it has become seriously injured since his day, for although it is still strong it can hardly now be described as dying away `as if at an immense distance,' or `diffusing itself through the circumambient air' with almost `a celestial character.' To the N of the nave and the W of the Sounding Aisle was the cloister court, and the other buildings of the monastery seem to have stood to the SW, but of these no trace now remains. When the houses in Abbey Close were removed in 1874, an old foundation was found which was supposed to be that of the `staitlie yett house' erected by Abbot Thomas Tervas. St. Roque's chapel, which stood at the top of Castle Street, was pulled down in 1618, the materials being used in the erection of the town's hospital.
     The original Low or Laigh Church was built in 1736, but the congregation removed in 1819 to St. George's Church in George Street, which is a good Grecian building, erected in that year at a cost of £7000, and renovated in 1894 at an expense of about £2400. The organ and organ chamber were added in 1874, and in 1893 a hall, class-rooms, and lavatories at a cost of £1200. The High Church at Oakshawhead was built in 1756, and the steeple was added in 1770. The Middle Church was built in 1782; the Gaelic Church (St. Columba), originally a chapel of ease, in High parish, in 1793; and Martyrs' Church, also originally a chapel of ease, in High parish, in 1835. The latter underwent extension in 1894-95. The South Church, originally a chapel of case, in Laigh parish: and the North Church, originally a chapel of ease, in Middle parish, do not call for particular notice. The former was renovated in 1891 at a cost of £1650. Greenlaw is a chapel of ease under Abbey parish, and there is also Nethercraigs and Lawn Street mission, the hall for which was rebuilt in 1893. The Arthur Allison Memorial Hall was presented in 1893 to the kirk-session of Abbey parish for mission and Sunday schoolwork. The Free High Church is a good building in the Norman style, with a massive square tower 100 feet high. The other Free churches are the Gaelic, Martyrs', Middle, Oakshaw, Sherwood, South, and St. George's. The United Presbyterian churches are those of Abbey Close (1827), Canal Street (1783), George Street (1822), Thread Street (1808--all with over 1000 sittings each), Lylesland, Mossvale, Oakshaw Street, and St. James' Church at Underwood Road, which, built in 1880-84, and replacing a former church erected in 1820 and with 1212 sittings, is particularly worthy of note. Cruciform in plan, it has a deep polygonal apse, wide side aisles, and twin transepts on each side. The whole interior is finished with stone, with open woodwork roof. The floor is laid in tessellated mosaic work. Behind the church are halls, class-rooms, session room, and vestry, and in the apse is an organ. There is a fine peal of bells in the spire, which rises to a height of 180 feet. The style is Early French Gothic; the number of sittings is 1100; and the total cost, exclusive of special gifts--such as the bells, reading desks, organ and screen, etc.--and the cost of site, was about £19,000. The spire first erected had to be removed in consequence of the failure of its foundation, and the present one is founded on iron cylinders filled with cement and sunk about 40 feet into the underlying clay. There are also a Reformed Presbyterian church, a Congregational church at Old Sneddon, an Evangelical Union church in Gilmour Street, 3 Baptist churches, a United Original Seceders church, built in 1893 at a cost of fully £3000, and seated for 500 persons; a Unitarian church, a Primitive Methodist church, a New Jerusalem church, Trinity Episcopal church (1828; chancel and transepts, 1884; 600 sittings), St. Barnabas Episcopal mission station, and two Roman Catholic churches, St. Mirren's (1808; 1008 sittings) and St. Mary's (1891; 900 sittings); but none of them call for more particular notice, except the Coats Memorial Baptist Church (1894), which is by far the grandest of the Paisley churches. The style of the edifice throughout is an adaptation of the most perfect period of Gothic art-namely, that of the 12th and 13th centuries. The plan is of Cruciform outline, but to meet more advantageously the requirements of Protestant worship the nave is made broader and shorter than the usual Cathedral proportion, while the external aisles attached to it are reserved for passage ways only. The transepts on either side are narrower than the nave, and their aisles are likewise unseated. The means for celebrating the sacrament of baptism is provided prominently in the chancel, and is elaborately treated in marble. A very important feature of the design is the tower, reared on the intersection of the nave and transepts. Starting above the main arches of the church roof on an oblong plan, the tower, reaching the first stage above the roof, resolves into a pure square, and is thus carried up to accommodate the sound-chamber and next the belfry. The latter presents two double windows, all richly treated with shafts and carved work. The richest effects, however, are seen in the chancel, which is lighted by three tall lancet windows. The sills are 22 feet above the chancel floor. The wall surface under the sills is filled with three elaborately carved panels of alabaster, the work of Mr. Robert Bridgman, Lichfield. The central panel is a representation of the baptism of our Saviour, that on the left representing the Nativity and Adoration, while that on the right hand represents the Last Supper. A magnificent organ, one of the finest in Europe it is said, has been erected. The architect for the whole works was Mr. Hippolyte Blanc, A.R.S.A., Edinburgh, and the edifice has been erected in memory of the late philanthropist, Thomas Coats of Ferguslie.
     Schools.--The Grammar School and Academy dates as an institution from 1576, and stood originally in School Wynd, on the site of the manse of the chaplain of St. Ninian's chapel in Abbey Church. In 1756 it was removed to another building farther up the wynd; and in 1864 a new school, which is a handsome Tudor building, with accommodation for 580 scholars, was provided at a cost of about £3473. Up till 1873 it was managed by the town council and a committee of subscribers, but then in terms of the Education Act it passed into the hands of the School Board. It is at present conducted by a rector, eight masters, and two mistresses. A new grammar school has been constructed at Crossflat, Glasgow Road, for which a sum of £15,000 was in 1894 apportioned to the School Board by the trustees of the late W. B. Barbour. It was estimated to cost about £19.000. The John Neilson Educational Institution on Oakshawhead was erected and endowed in 1851-52 from a bequest of £20,000 made by Mr. John Neilson of Nethercommon. It is a handsome building in the form of a Greek cross with a central dome, and the work is carried on by six masters and five mistresses, and is under the control of the Paisley Educational Trust. Under the burgh school board are twelve public schools--East, West, North, South, Camphill, Carbrook Street, Ferguslie, George Street, Central, Stevenson Street, Stow, Williamsburgh, and Ferguslie (half time), and these, with total accommodation for 8354 pupils, have an average attendance of about 8100, and grants amounting to over £8700. A new public school is to be built in Carbrook Street, with accommodation for 800. It is also proposed to erect a new Technical School in George Street. The other schools are the Industrial school, Miss Kibble's Reformatory Institution (1859), and three Roman Catholic schools; also, St. Margaret's Convent school (middle class). The Government School of Art and Design, established in 1848, is not far from the County Buildings.
     Municipality, etc.--After the crown charter of 1665, Paisley was in all but the election of a member of parliament on the same footing as a royal burgh, and by the Reform Act of 1833 it was made a parliamentary burgh. The municipal government is carried on by a provost, six bailies, a treasurer, and sixteen councillors, who also act as police commissioners and water and gas commissioners. The police force in their employment is 68 officers (1 to every 1053 of the population), and the superintendent's salary is £290. The gasworks are at the NW of the town. They were originally established in 1823 by a joint-stock company with a capital of £16,000. In 1845 their management was transferred to the police commissioners, and afterwards to the town council. They were largely extended in 1896. It is proposed to introduce the electric light. The first water supply was introduced by a joint-stock company in 1834-38, the water being brought from Stanley Dam, about 2 miles to the SW. Since 1870 it has also been drawn through the Stanley filters from works at Nethertrees about 7 miles distant, constructed in 1869-70 at a cost of £77,000, the receiving tank at Stanley being about 10 feet higher than the top of the High Church steeple, or nearly 300 feet above the level of the greater part of the town. Power for further extension was obtained in 1875-76, and new works carried out between that and 1881 at a cost of £20,000. The new reservoir then constructed at Glenburn has storage accommodation for 80,000,000 gallons. In order to meet the extra consumpt of water through the extension of the water supply to Kilbarchan, an additional filter was constructed at Craigenfeoch in 1893 capable of filtering 60,000 gallons a day. A further extension was proposed in 1896-97 at a cost of about £50,000. The system is under the management of the town council. A new fire-engine station was erected in 1896-97; and a steam roller for the macadamised roads was in 1894 added to the property of the burgh at a cost of £500. The corporation property was in 1833 estimated to be worth £58,125, and the debts on it were £33,000, but the unsuccessful attempt to deepen the Cart proved such a heavy drain that in 1843, during a period of great commercial depression, the authorities had to suspend payment, and not till 1877 was the town again clear of debt. The corporation revenue in 1894-95 was £15,810, exclusive of £105,133 from the water and other trusts; and the revenue of the Cart trust estate was £1344. The trade societies representing the old trade incorporations are the old weavers, maltmen, hammermen, grocers, and merchants. The town has a head post office, with district branches. The Paisley Bank was established in 1787, and the Paisley Union Bank a few years after, but the former was merged in the British Linen Company's Bank in 1837, and the latter in the Union Bank of Scotland in 1838, while the Paisley Commercial Bank, established in 1839, was soon amalgamated with the Western Bank. The banks at present in Paisley are branches of the Bank of Scotland, British Linen Company, Clydesdale, Commercial, National, Royal, and Union Banks. There is also a branch of the National Security Savings Bank, a tramway company, and several good hotels. The newspapers are the Daily Express (1874), the Paisley and Renfrewshire Gazette and Paisley Herald (1853), and the Paisley Chronicle (1885), both published on Saturday, and the Paisley Mirror (1894), published on Friday. There are four Masonic lodges, the Royal Victoria Eye Infirmary, Paisley Philosophical Institution, a juridical society, lodges of Good Templars (with a hall erected in 1881), Foresters, Shepherds, Free Gardeners, Rechabites, and Oddfellows, four Co-operative Societies, numerous friendly societies, Liberal and Conservative clubs and associations, two theatres, a Young Men's Christian Association, a Christian Benevolent Society, a Mission to the Deaf and Dumb, a Sabbath School Union, an Art Institute, an Association for Improving the Condition of the People, an Heritable Property Investment Society, two Building Societies, a branch of the Bible Society, several curling, bowling, bicycle, lawn tennis, rowing, skating, angling, cricket, and football clubs, several horticultural societies, Renfrewshire Agricultural Society, an Ornithological Society, a Burns Club, a Tannahill Club, a Philharmonic Society, a Choral Union, and Rifle Volunteers. The burgh has besides a Convalescent Home at West Kilbride. There is a weekly market on Thursday, and fairs on the third Thursday of February and May, and the second Thursday of August (St. James's Day) and November. At that in August there are general holidays, and Paisley races are held. Ordinary sheriff courts for the Upper Ward of Renfrewshire are held every Tuesday during session, sheriff small-debt courts every Thursday during session, and justice of peace courts every Friday.
     Paisley returns a member to serve in parliament. Parliamentary constituency (1895) 9322, municipal constituency 11,110, including 1788 females. Valuation (1874) £148,946, (1884) £223,366, (1895) £295,443. Pop. (1733) 3396, (1753) 4195, (1801) 24,324, (1811) 29,541, (1821) 38,500, (1841) 48,125, (1851) 47,952, (1861) 47,406, (1871) 48,240, (1881) 55,638, (1891) 66,425, of whom 35,746 were females. Houses (1891) inhabited 13,594, uninhabited 652, building 43.
     Paisley has produced many notable men, and indeed a somewhat apocryphal story is told that at a gathering in town when the toast of `the Poets of Paisley' was proposed, every man in the room rose to reply! Among the poets and distinguished men, natives of the place, may be mentioned George A. Clark (1823-73); Sir Peter Coats, philanthropist (1808-90); Thomas Coats of Ferguslie (1809-83), public benefactor, and his son Sir Thomas, created a baronet in 1894; Alexander Dunlop, father of William Dunlop, Principal of Glasgow University from 1690 to 1700; James Fillans (1808-52), sculptor, who, though born at Wilsontown in Lanarkshire, was removed to Paisley so early that he may be claimed as a native; William Findlay (1792-1847), minor poet; John Henning (1771-1851), sculptor; William Kennedy (1799-1849), minor poet; John Love, D.D. (1756-1825), an eminent divine; Andrew Park (1807-63), minor poet; Andrew Picken (1788-1833), miscellaneous writer; Ebenezer Picken (1769-1816), minor poet and miscellaneous writer; David Semple (1808-78), author of St. Mirin and other works on local history; Robert A. Smith (1780-1829), musical composer, who, although born in England, was the son of a Paisley `body,' and was himself brought to the place at a very early age; Andrew Symington, D.D. (1785-1853), professor of theology in the Reformed Presbyterian Church; Tannahill (1774-1810), poet; Dr. James Thomson, the first professor of divinity in the Relief Church; Alexander Wilson (1766-1813), minor poet, miscellaneous writer, and American ornithologist; Professor John Wilson, `Christopher North' (1785-1854), poet and essayist; his brother, James Wilson (1795-1856), naturalist; and William Rae Wilson (1772-1849), the eminent traveller. Distinguished men connected with the place, but not natives, have been Patrick Adamson (1543-91), Archbishop of St. Andrews; Rev. James Begg (1809-83), Free Church leader, who was minister of the Middle parish from 1832 to 1835; Robert Boyd of Trochrig (1578-1627), Principal of Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities, and finally minister of Paisley, but the people, headed by the Master of Paisley, brother of the Earl of Abercorn, and his mother, offered such opposition to his ministry that he retired; Robert Brodie (1807-71), benefactor to the town; Rev. Robert Findlay (1721-1814), professor of theology in Glasgow University: Andrew Knox (d. 1632), minister of Paisley, afterwards Bishop of the Isles, and subsequently of Raphoe in Ireland; Rev. Robert Miller (d. 1752), author of the History of the Propagation of Christianity, who was minister from 1709; William Motherwell-- who by education may almost be counted a Paisley man--(1797-1835), poet, antiquary, and journalist; Thomas Smeaton (1536-83), Principal of Glasgow University; Alexander Smith (1829-67), poet and author, who here followed for some time his profession as a pattern designer; Dr. Robert Watt (1774-1819), author of the Bibliotheca Britannica; and Dr. John Witherspoon (1722-94), minister of the Laigh parish, afterwards president of the College of New Jersey, theological writer.
     The parish of Paisley until 1891 had a detached part separated from the main portion by a narrow strip of Abbey parish, and within this detached part was a detached part of Abbey parish. The Boundary Commissioners united the Paisley detached part to the main portion by annexing a portion of the intervening part of Abbey parish, and the detached part of Abbey parish was then transferred to the Paisley parish. The parish of Paisley is divided ecclesiastically into the High, Laigh, and Middle parishes, all within the burgh, and all till 1736 forming part of Abbey parish. The quoad sacra parish of Martyrs' is partly taken from Abbey parish and partly from High Church parish, that of North Church from Middle Church parish, that of St. Columba from High Church parish, that of South Church from Abbey parish and Laigh Church parish. The populations in 1891 were--9425 in High Church parish, 6075 in Laigh Church parish, 5715 in Middle Church parish, 11,086 in Martyrs', 7989 in North, 2409 in St. Columba's, and 7901 in South, the rest being in Abbey parish.
     The Presbytery of Paisley comprehends the quoad civilia parishes of Abbey-Paisley, Eastwood, High Church Paisley, Houstoun, Inchinnan, Kilbarchan, Laigh Parish Paisley, Lochwinnoch, Mearns, Middle Parish Paisley, Neilston, and Renfrew; the quoad sacra parishes of Barrhead, Bridge of Weir, Caldwell, Cardonald, Elderslie, Greenbank, Johnstone, Levern, Linwood, Martyrs' Paisley, North Paisley, South Paisley, St. Columba's Paisley, Pollokshaws, and Thornliebank; and the chapelries of Shawlands (Eastwood), Laigh Cartside (Johnstone), Howwood (Lochwinnoch), Greenlaw (Paisley), and the mission stations of Nethercraigs and Lawn Street (Paisley). It meets at Paisley on the first Wednesdays of February, May, July, September, and December, and on the third Wednesdays of March and October. The Free Church has also a presbytery of Paisley with 8 churches in Paisley, 2 at Pollokshaws, and 9 at respectively Barrhead, Bridge of Weir, Houstoun, Inchinnan, Johnstone, Lochwinnoch, Neilston, Nitshill, and Renfrew, and a preaching station at Elderslie. The U.P. presbytery of Paisley includes 8 churches at Paisley, 2 at Beith, 2 at Johnstone, and 6 at respectively Bridge of Weir, Kilbarchan, Kilmalcolm, Langbank, Lochwinnoch, and Renfrew.
     See also Cosmo Innes' Registrum Monasterii de Passelet (Edinb., Maitland Club, 1832); Mackie's Historical Description of the Abbey and Town of Paisley (Glasg. 1835); Parkhill's History of Paisley (Paisley, 1857); Memorial of the Inauguration of the Fountain Gardens (Paisley, 1868); Memorial of the Inauguration of the Free Library and Museum (Paisley, 1871); Semple's St. Mirin, an Historical Account of Old Houses, Old Families, and Olden Times in Paisley (Paisley, 1872; with supplements in 1873 and 1874); Brown's History of the Paisley Grammar School (Paisley, 1875); Lichens from an Old Abbey: Monastery of Paisley (Paisley, 1876); Gilmour's Paisley Weavers of Other Days (Paisley, 1876; 2d ed. 1879), and his Gordon's Loan, Paisley, Sixty-odd Years Ago (Paisley, 1881); Dr. J. Cameron Lees' The Abbey of Paisley, from its Foundation to its Dissolution (Paisley, 1878); Craig's Historical Notes on Paisley and its Neighbourhood (Paisley, 1881); William Hector's Vanduara, Odds and Ends, Personal, Social, and Local, from Recollections of Byepast Times (Paisley, 1881); and Memorial of the Inauguration of the Clark Hall (Paisley, 1882).