Paisley

Paisley, a municipal and parliamentary borough of Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated seven miles S.W. of Glasgow, on the White Cart river near its junction with the Clyde. The town grew up round an abbey which probably occupied the site of a Roman fort (Vanduara), and in 1488 it received a charter. Thread and cotton are now the staple products, but soap, starch, cornflour, and other articles are largely manufactured. There are also bleaching, dyeing, and printing works, engineering sheds, and ship-building yards, the river having been rendered navigable to vessels of 50 tons. Except the abbey, one of the finest relics of ecclesiastical architecture in Scotland, all the public buildings are modern. There are three public parks and several monuments.