Town in Renfrewshire, Scotland
Renfrew
One of the Scottish titles of the sovereign's eldest son is Baron of Renfrew, tied to a small Clyde town and a 12th-century battle.
Key information
- County
- Renfrewshire
- Nation
- Scotland
- Known for
- The Baron of Renfrew title, Clyde dredger-building, and Glasgow's first airport
- Famous people
- Somerled, Walter Fitzalan
- Football clubs
- Renfrew FC (junior)
About Renfrew
The town that gives the heir his title
Baron of Renfrew is one of the Scottish titles automatically held by the sovereign's eldest living son when he is also heir apparent. It is a lot of weight for a town on the south bank of the Clyde. The reason goes back almost 900 years, when Renfrew was one of the most important places in the west of Scotland. The title is a reminder that the royal family's Scottish roots run through the town.
The day a Lord of the Isles died on the riverbank
In 1164 Somerled, the Hebridean warlord and Lord of the Isles, led a force up the Clyde to attack Renfrew. It did not end well for him. He was killed there, and his campaign collapsed. Somerled is remembered as the founder of Clan Donald and the MacDougall and MacDonald lines. A monument to him stands in Renfrew. The fight shows how much the town mattered. Whoever held Renfrew had a grip on the gateway to the Clyde.
From Renfrew to the throne
Renfrew's greatest claim to fame is its link with the Stewarts. King David I gave land here to Walter Fitzalan, a Breton-descended nobleman who became High Steward of Scotland. His descendants took the name Stewart from the office. Eventually they took the crown itself, and the royal house of Stewart later came to rule both Scotland and England. That is why a modest town beside the Clyde sits at the start of one of Britain's most famous royal families.
Dredgers, boilers and the working Clyde
Renfrew was a hard-working industrial town. Its yards built dredgers, machines that scoop out harbours and rivers, and were known for them around the world. The Clyde itself needed constant dredging to keep ships moving up to Glasgow. Firms like Lobnitz and Simons grew up on that need, and the dredgers they built were sent far from the Clyde. The town also had a big engineering works, Babcock & Wilcox, which made boilers and power plant equipment. For generations, a good number of local families were employed in these yards and workshops. Much of that heavy industry has gone, but the riverside still carries the shape of that past.
When Glasgow took off from Renfrew
Before there was an airport at Abbotsinch, Glasgow's flights used Renfrew. The aerodrome here handled the city's passenger services for decades. In 1966 Glasgow's main airport moved to the larger site at Abbotsinch, close to Renfrew, which is still Glasgow Airport today. The old Renfrew airfield closed to scheduled flying. It means the town can fairly say it was Glasgow's first gateway to the skies.