Town in Renfrewshire, Scotland
Paisley
A Scottish mill town gave its name to the swirling teardrop pattern found on shirts, ties and wallpaper worldwide, and a rock star even named his studio after it.
Key information
- County
- Renfrewshire
- Nation
- Scotland
- Population
- about 77,000, 2011 Census
- Known for
- The paisley pattern, Paisley Abbey, thread-making and the 1697 witch trials
- What locals are called
- Paisley buddies
- Famous people
- Gerard Butler, Paolo Nutini, Robert Tannahill, Alexander Wilson
- Football clubs
- St Mirren (the Buddies)
About Paisley
The town that lent its name to a pattern
Say "paisley" anywhere in the English-speaking world and people picture a curled, teardrop-shaped motif. That is a Scottish town's name stuck on an Indian design. The pattern, known as the boteh, came from Kashmir shawls, which were brought to Britain in the 1700s and became wildly fashionable. Kashmiri shawls were costly, so weavers in Britain set out to copy them. Paisley's weavers got so good, and produced so many, that the town's name swallowed the design whole. The weavers were helped by the Jacquard loom, which let them weave intricate colour patterns at a fraction of the hand-made cost. By the mid-1800s Paisley was turning out shawls by the thousand. The name travelled further still. Prince called his Minnesota studio complex Paisley Park, and the pattern has been on bandanas, ties and psychedelic album sleeves ever since.
The thread that conquered the world
When shawl fashions faded, Paisley already had a second act. Thread-making had been growing in the town since the 1700s, and two families built it into a global business: the Coatses and the Clarks. J&P Coats became one of the largest thread manufacturers on Earth, and its Ferguslie Mills dominated the town. Clark's Anchor Mills stood close by, and the two firms were fierce rivals for decades. The Coats family left their mark on the skyline too. Coats Memorial Church, a Gothic Revival Baptist church finished in 1894 and paid for by the family, has a spire you can spot from across town. The Coats Observatory, which opened in 1883, gave a mill town its own serious telescope. The wealth of the thread barons also paid for libraries, a museum and much of the grand Victorian town centre that still stands.
A royal abbey and a princess's tomb
Paisley Abbey was founded in 1163 by Walter fitzAlan, High Steward of Scotland, and settled by monks from Cluny's tradition. His family took the name Stewart, and later became the royal house of Scotland. The abbey is tied to that story. Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert the Bruce, died in 1316 after a riding accident near Paisley, and her tomb is in the abbey. Her son became Robert II, the first Stewart king. Legend also links William Wallace to the monks of Paisley, who are said to have taught him in his youth. Whatever the truth of that, the abbey's long nave and soaring stonework make it one of the great medieval churches in Scotland. Paisley Museum, home to the town's shawl collection, closed in 2018 for a major redevelopment, and its planned 2024 reopening was delayed.
The witches of Bargarran
In 1696, an eleven-year-old girl called Christian Shaw, from the Bargarran estate near Paisley, began suffering fits and claiming she was being tormented. She named local people as the cause. A special commission was set up, and in 1697 seven people were condemned. Executions were carried out at Gallow Green in Paisley, and a horseshoe set into the road at Maxwellton Cross marks the traditional burial place of the victims' remains. It is often described as one of the last mass witch executions in Western Europe. Christian herself went on to a surprisingly practical life. She became a pioneer of fine Bargarran thread, which helped lay the foundations of Paisley's thread industry.
Buddies, bards and a victory for weavers
Locals are Paisley buddies, a nickname also worn by the town's football club, St Mirren. The club was founded in 1877 and is named for Saint Mirin, Paisley's patron saint. Its biggest day came in 1987, when Ian Ferguson's extra-time goal beat Dundee United 1-0 in the Scottish Cup final. St Mirren have also won the cup in 1926 and 1959. Every July the town marks Sma' Shot Day. In 1856 the weavers won a dispute over the "sma' shot", the fine thread that holds a weave together, which manufacturers had stopped paying for. The celebration includes a parade and the Sma' Shot Cottages, which are open to visitors. Paisley has a literary side as well. Robert Tannahill, the weaver-poet, wrote songs still sung in Scotland. Alexander Wilson, a Paisley weaver turned poet, emigrated to America and became known as the father of American ornithology. More recent stars include actor Gerard Butler and singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini, both born in the town.