Welcome to Paisley

Paisley is located in the Scottish county of Renfrewshire, approximately 403 miles north-north-west of London and 7 miles south-west of Glasgow, with easy access to Glasgow Airport and the M8 motorway.

The town has a population of around 82,500. Administratively it is within the unitary council region of Renfrewshire which covers an area of approximately 260 sq kms.

Although close enough to be almost a suburb of Glasgow, Paisley is very distinctly a town in its own right, as the local inhabitants (who like to be known as 'Buddies') will testify. One of the the town's most oustanding architectural buildings is the Gothic-style Thomas Coats Memorial Church with a crown spire, built in 1894. Other notable historic buildings include the Town Hall, which unusually faces the river rather than the town, and the Abbey, opposite the town hall, which contains a Celtic cross dating from the 10th century. Although not generally considered as a tourist destination there are many visitor attractions in the area.

The town grew up around an abbey which was founded in 1163. It expanded rapidly in the 19th century as a centre of linen manufacturing and became renowned for its Paisley shawls, reproductions of patterned Kashmiri shawls sent home by Scottish troops and first copied in Paisley in 1770.

Historically the town's economy was based upon its textile industry but today the service sector dominates.

The name Paisley is thought to derive from the old Brythonic word 'Pasgill', meaning "pasture". It was formerly known as Paislay and still known as Pàislig in Gaelic.