High Street drill hall, Paisley

The High Street drill hall was a historic building in Paisley, Scotland, built in 1901 for the 2nd Renfrewshire Rifle Volunteers (part of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders). The architect was Thomas Graham Abercrombie, who was himself a member of the unit. The 2nd Renfrewshire Rifle Volunteers were incorporated into the 6th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1908. The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to the Western Front. The 6th Battalion amalgamated with the 5th Battalion to form the 5th/6th Battalion in 1921. In latter years the building was used by the Territorial Army. The TA vacated the building in 1996 and it was subsequently sold to the University of the West of Scotland, which in turn sold it to a development company in 2007. The building was gutted by fire in 2020. In 2024, the owners removed the supports keeping the facade in place, claiming that they had begun to subside. Renfrewshire Council subsequently issued a dangerous building notice requiring them either to replace the supports or to pull the remains of the building down. The owners opted for demolition.

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Coats Paisley

Coats Paisley is a reception hall which stands at the west end of the High Street in Paisley, Scotland. The building was the home of Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church, colloquially known as the Baptist Cathedral of Europe, until 2018. It has been a dominant feature of the Paisley skyline for over 100 years with its striking crown steeple rising to 60 metres (200 ft) above the ground. The church is a category A listed building.

Paisley Museum and Art Galleries

Paisley Museum and Art Galleries is a museum in Paisley, Scotland. It is currently closed for refurbishment and is due to reopen in 2026 only with the title of Paisley Museum. It is located in the town of Paisley and is run by Renfrewshire Council. When it had art galleries, six in total, it housed one of the largest municipal art collections in Scotland, including over 800 paintings. The Museum and Art Galleries were gifted to the town of Paisley by the thread-making industrialist Sir Peter Coats in 1871. The building, which also houses Paisley Library and the Coats Observatory, was designed by Glasgow architect John Honeyman of the firm of Honeyman and Keppie. The first curator of the Museum was the entomologist Morris Young who remained in post until his death in 1897 leaving the Museum a bequest of £500 to be invested and the returns used to pay for the upkeep of the entomological collections and all his books. The museum has been extended on several occasions since it opened. In 2017 plans were announced for a revamp of the Museum to transform it into an "international-class destination" based around Paisley's heritage story. The art collection displayed over many years, including the large art collection owned by Paisley Art Institute has concentrated largely on works by late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Scottish artists, such as the Glasgow School and the Scottish Colourists.In addition a contemporary collection was made which includes work by artists such as Steven Campbell and John Byrne, who was born in Paisley. The museum houses a collection of objects and documents covering the local and international history of Paisley and Renfrewshire, especially the importance of the textiles and thread-making industry, tracing the history of the luxury shawl industry which developed in Paisley. The museum has recreated the work and a weaving using a traditional hand loom can be seen on site It also contains an archaeological collection which includes objects from Ancient Egypt and Babylon and an extensive natural history collection, the museum also houses the local biological records centre. One of the most important items in the Museum's collection is the Arbuthnott Missal which was presented to the Museum by another of the Coats family, Archibald. This missal is the only extant pre Reformation missal (liturgical book) of the Scottish Use and in 2007 it was awarded a prestigious top award in the British Library's Hidden Treasures Brought to Life competition. The museum is currently closed to the public. In August 2025 Renfrewshire Council stated that they expected to re-open as Paisley Museum in the second half of 2026.

Paisley Gilmour Street rail accident

The Paisley Gilmour Street rail accident occurred on 16 April 1979 at 19:50. The 19:40 Inverclyde Line service from Glasgow Central to Wemyss Bay, operated by two Class 303 trains, crossed from the Down Fast Line to the Down Gourock Line under clear signals at Wallneuk Junction immediately to the east of Paisley Gilmour Street railway station. It collided head-on with the 18:58 Ayrshire Coast Line special service from Ayr to Glasgow Central, formed of two Class 126 diesel multiple units, which had left Platform 2 against a red signal P31.

Paisley War Memorial

Paisley War Memorial, also known as Paisley Cenotaph, is a war memorial in at the centre of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. It was unveiled in 1924, became a Category B listed building in 1980, and was upgraded to Category A in 1997. The memorial was commissioned after the First World War, following an open competition which attracted 195 entries. A public subscription raised funding of £14,000 to build the memorial. It comprises a bronze equestrian sculptural group on a 25 ft (7.6 m) high rectangular stone plinth. The plinth rises on four steps from a stone platform with a retaining wall on three sides, open to the west. The structure was designed by the architect Sir Robert Lorimer, and constructed by Neil McLeod & Sons Limited with stone carving by Allen & Sons, using about 200 tons of grey granite imported from Shap Fell in Cumbria. The bronze sculpture group stop the plinth, about 3 m (9.8 ft) high and weighing about 4.5 tons, was designed by Alice Meredith Williams and cast by JW Singer & Sons. Williams had given her competition entry the title "The Spirit of the Crusaders": a model created for the competition is held by the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. It depicts a medieval knight in armour mounted on a horse, accompanied by four infantry soldiers in First World War battledress, with muddy boots, greatcoats, and helmets. The knight carries a shield and pennant bearing the St Andrew's saltire for Scotland. The arms of the burgh of Paisley, of St Andrew, and of St George, are carved into the front (south) and rear (north) faces of the plinth, and bronze plaques are mounted on the east and west faces. Towards the bottom of the south face of the plinth, the stone bears an inscription which reads "TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY/ OF THE 1,953 MEN OF PAISLEY/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES ON LAND/ AND SEA IN THE GREAT WAR". After the Second World War, a further inscription as added "AND IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE/ MEN AND WOMEN OF THIS BURGH WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE WORLD WAR 1939-1945". The memorial was unveiled on 27 July 1924, before a crowd of 20,000 people, by Mrs Macnab, a widow who lost three sons in the Great War. Prayers were led by Rev. Dr A M MacLean, of Paisley Abbey, accompanied by the Provost Glover and the former Provost John Robertson who was chairman of the War Memorial Committee. After this memorial, Williams collaborated with Lorimer on sculptures for the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh.