Paisley Museum

Paisley Museum stands in the centre of Paisley, a town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The building was given to the town in 1871 by Sir Peter Coats, a thread-making industrialist. It was designed by the Glasgow architect John Honeyman and opened with an art collection of more than 800 paintings. The museum also housed Paisley Library and the Coats Observatory. The first curator was the entomologist Morris Young, who left money for the care of insects and books after his death. The museum’s collections tell the story of Paisley and Renfrewshire. Textile history is shown through shawls and weaving looms, while archaeological finds include objects from Ancient Egypt and Babylon. A natural history section and the local biological records centre are also kept here. One of the most important items is the Arbuthnott Missal, a pre-Reformation liturgical book awarded a prize in 2007. The museum’s art collection features late 19th- and early 20th-century Scottish artists and later works by Steven Campbell and John Byrne. The building is now closed for refurbishment and will reopen in 2027 as Paisley Museum. The work finished in early 2026, and the new displays will focus on the town’s heritage. When it reopens, visitors will find the weaving loom still in place and the collections arranged to show Paisley’s past and its links to wider history.