Paisley Abbey

Paisley Abbey stands on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of Paisley, a town in Renfrewshire about eleven kilometres west of Glasgow. The present building replaces an earlier church founded in the 8th century and became a Cluniac priory in 1163. After the Reformation in the 16th century it became a Church of Scotland parish church. The Gothic structure dates mainly from the 14th and 19th centuries, with later restorations by Macgregor Chalmers and Sir Robert Lorimer. The abbey was raised to abbey status in 1245 under the patronage of the Stewart family. It was burned by Edward I in 1307 and rebuilt soon after. The abbey is the burial place of the first six High Stewards of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, mother of Robert II. A 10th-century Celtic Barochan Cross now stands inside the building. The Wallace Memorial Window in the nave, donated in 1873, shows the figure of Samson. Archaeologists have found items including a slate with the oldest known example of polyphonic music in Scotland. The abbey also preserves a 19th-century organ by Cavaillé-Coll, one of only six such instruments in the UK. A hidden drain running beneath the grounds dates from the 14th century and has been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Inside, visitors see the nave with its Wallace Memorial Window and the restored choir rebuilt from ruined walls. The Celtic Barochan Cross stands near the crossing, and tombs in the choir include those believed to hold Marjorie Bruce and Robert III. The abbey’s stained glass includes windows by Edward Burne-Jones and Douglas Strachan. The organ, rebuilt several times, remains one of Scotland’s finest. Outside, the abbey overlooks the White Cart Water, with the remains of the drain visible through manhole covers in nearby lanes.