Renfrew Castle

Renfrew Castle once stood in the royal burgh of Renfrew, where the River Cart flows into the Clyde. The first castle was built in the 12th century by Walter fitz Alan on a small island called the King’s Inch. A later stone castle replaced it in the 13th century near the ferry road to the Clyde. King Robert II, grandson of Walter fitz Alan, was born there and later made it a royal residence. James IV stayed at the castle when visiting nearby Paisley Abbey. By the 18th century both castles had been demolished and their stones used elsewhere. The site has seen many changes since the castles disappeared. The King’s Inch island no longer exists, and the land now lies on the river’s south bank. Castlehill Gardens marks the spot where the 13th-century castle once stood, though only pottery sherds remain from earlier centuries. In the 15th century Sir John Ross built Inch Castle on the old motte, a four-storey building with crow-stepped gables. Elderslie House replaced it in the 18th century, and later investigations found traces of its foundations. Visitors today see only hints of the past. A low mound and the name Castlehill Gardens recall the royal castle. The Braehead area covers the former King’s Inch, where foundations of Elderslie House were found. Excavations have uncovered pottery from the 12th to 14th centuries, but no visible ruins remain. The playground at Castlehill sits among modern buildings, a quiet reminder of a once important fortress.