Portal to the Past

New Resources
The Scottish War Memorials Project aims to record and photograph all types of war memorials across Scotland, including civic, personal, regimental and church memorials.  Entries can be browsed by area on the project forum website (look under 'Renfrewshire' for items relating to East Renfrewshire):

Scottish War Memorials Project

The Rise of the Cotton Factory in Eighteenth-Century Renfrewshire by Stuart M Nisbet (BAR British Series 464, 2008)

This fascinating new book is available, for reference only, at Giffnock Heritage Centre. In the late 18th century, Renfrewshire became one of the most important cotton producing regions in the British Isles and by 1795 the area contained half of the cotton spinning mills in Scotland. In his detailed study, Dr. Nisbet explores the growth of this industry and explains why this small Scottish region became one of the earliest and most important cotton manufacturing regions in Britain.

At this time the county of Renfrewshire covered the East Renfrewshire area and the study includes important local research on the cotton mills at Busby, Eaglesham, Neilston and Barrhead.

For more information, contact Heritage Services staff on 0141 577 3872 or at localstudies@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk