This is a list of the ecclesiastical Parishes within Paisley in 1885, along with an alphabetical list of the streets within each parish. Ecclesiastical and Civil parishes vary in size and often contain different streets. This list is presented to help find ancestors within the Parish Records rather than the Civil Records.
If you know the name of the street that ancestors lived in, you can then use that to located the local Church of Scotland that they may have attended. But be warned… they may not have attended the main Church of Scotland Within the Parish. At this time in Paisley they were many ‘Dissenting Congregations’ as they are generally called such as the Free Church, United Presbyterian, United Free, Methodist etc.
Before 1855 the Church of Scotland Parish Church would have maintained the Baptism Records, Marriage Banns and Death Records for the area covered by their parish. After 1855 when Civil Registration came in, each congregation contunued to maintain their own baptism, marriage and death records and quite often these are still held by the congregation if it has survived in its own right through the changes in Church of Scotland Parishes, or the records will have been deposited in the National Records of Scotland within the Historic Search Room if the Congregation no longer survives.
ABBEY PARISH
Within the Burgh Includes:
Abbey street Abbey terrace Abbey close Abercorn street Ardgowan street (Blackhall) Auchintorlie rd. (from Clark’s court to Hawkhead road) Blackhall Blackhall buildings Bridge street (north) Buchanan street (east) Cart street Cameron street Christie street Chapelhill Cochran street Cotton street | Crofts (north, south, east, and west) Crow road (south side only) Calside road (west side, to Haircraigs cot., Greenlaw) Garthland place Garthland lane Garthland street Gateside Gallowhill Gauze street Glasgow road (both sides to Halfway-house and Hagg’s road) Glebe street Hawthorn buildings Incle street | King street (Saucel) Ladyburn Lawn street Laighpark Lonend Mill street (to Seedhills) Millar street Netherhill Niddry street Renfrew street Renfrew road (to Potter-row or village) Sandyford Silk street Saucel Thread street Williamsburgh |
Outline of the Landward Part of the Abbey Parish:
From Halfway-House to Corkerhill, Henderton, Crookston, Hawkhead Pleasure Grounds to South Lodge, and from thence along the Barrhead Road to Crosstobs, from thence to Brownside, Stanley Muir, and from thence to Bent Bridge, Bentston, and Hartfleld, from thence to Glenpatrick Burn, along the east side of this burn to the Distillery, from thence to Foxbar and Lounsdale, and on to a point on Chain road where the Canal Railway crosses said road; then along the south side of the Railway to Craw road, along the centre of this road to Calside road, from thence to Haircraigs cottage, and from thence in a line south of Falside place to Thornly Park, then to Barterholm bridge, to Hunterhill, Chapelhill, Blackball, to Saucel and to Espedair Burn bridge, corner of Gordon’s lane.
Then again starting at Halfway-House, in a line north of Hillington terrace to North Hillington, Rylees, Old Hall, and the Arklestons, to Sandyford, to Abbot’s Burn, to Moss toll bar, from ihence to Moss plantation, from thence in a line to Blackstone house, from thence to East Candren, to Craigielea.
HIGH PARISH
Includes:
Argyle street Barclay street Barr street Calside (west of Mary field villa) Camphill Canal street (Nos. 11—83) Castlehead | Castle street (east side) Churchhill (west side) George street (Nos. 10—50, and 117—162) High street (Nos. 28—55, and 81-86) Lady lane Oakshaw (Nos. 12—14) | Orr square (east side) New street (No. 45) Sir Michael street Storie street Stow place (west side) West Buchanan street Wellmeadow street (Nos.1 – 25) |
MIDDLE PARISH
Includes:
Caledonia street (Nos. 1 to 25 and 51 to 56) Churchhill (east side only) County square & place Dyers’ wynd Galloway street Gilmour street Glen lane Glen street (Nos. 1 to 17 inclusive) Greenhill road Greenock road (to the Toll, west side only) High street (Nos. 5 to 27 and 87 to 109 inclusive) | Hunter street Love street (Nos. 1 to 7 and 71 to 75 inclusive) Macdowall street Meeting-house lane Middle lane (Nos. 1 to 7 inclusive) Moncrieff street (Nos. 6 to 10 inclusive) Moss street Murray street Oakshaw street (from School wynd to Stoney brae ) Pattison street Quay lane (south side only) | Race course and roads St. James place St. James street (Nos. 1 to 8 and 20 to 37 inclusive) School wynd Back Sneddon (Nos. 1 to 12 and 60 to 69 inclusive) New Sneddon (Nos. 1 to 10 and 89 to 97 inclusive) Old Sneddon Stoney brae (east side only) Underwood road (north side only) Westmarch. |
LOW PARISH (ST. GEORGE’S)
Includes:
Bladda Bladda lane (north side) Bridge street (west of Abbey bridge) Brown’s lane Burn row Calside (west side) Calside place (east of and including Maryfield villa) Canal street (Nos. 1 to 10 and 84 to 91) Causeyside (except Nos. 56, 57, 58, 59) | Forbes place Espedair street (east side) George street (Nos. 1 to 8 and 166 to 170) George place Gordon’s lane High street (Nos. 1 to 4) Laigh Kirk lane Marshall’s lane New street (No. 45 excepted) Orchard street Prussia street Saucel (Nos. 13 and 14) | Seedhill Seedhill road Shuttle street South Campbell street (east of Espedair street) Stevenson street Stirling street Stow street Stow place (east side, 1 to 4) St. Mirren street (except National Bank) Wardrop street Water brae. |
MARTYRS PARISH
Includes:
Broomlands Campbell street (west) Carbrook street Castle street (Nos. 20 to 35) Chain road (east side as far as Canal Railway bridge) East lane (Ferguslie) Ferguslie Ferguslie walk | George street (Nos. 52 to 116) John street King street Knox street Lonewells (Nos. 22 to 46) Maxwellton Maxwellton street Mid lane (Ferguslie) Millarston | Neil street Newton street Queen street Ralston square Sandholes Thomas street West lane (Ferguslie) West street William street |
ST COLUMBA PARISH
Includes:
High street (Nos. 56 to 80) Lonewells (east side only) Oakshaw (from Stoney brae and Orr square westward) | Orr square (west side only) St. James street (Nos. 9 to 19) Stoney brae (west side only) | Underwood road (south side only) Wellmeadow street (27 to 43) West brae |
SOUTH PARISH
Includes:
Annfield place Barterholm Bute place Calside (east side only) Carriagehill Colinslee place Dovesland Duke street Earl Grey place Espedair st. (ex. east side from Causeyside to South Campbell st.) | Falside Glenview Great Hamilton street Hillview Janefield place Kilncroft lane Lylesland Mansfield place Mary street Neilson street | Neilston road Orr street Potterhill Rowan street Smith street South Campbell street South park Stock street Stonefield Union street. |
NORTH PARISH
Includes:
Albert street Albion street Blacklaw lane Caledonia street (Nos. 26 to 50 inclusive) Carlile place and lane Cart lane Glen street (Nos. 19 to 35 inclusive) Greenock road (north side only to the Toll) | Love street (No. 8 to 70 inclusive) Lowndes’s lane Moncrieff street (Nos. 1 to 4 inclusive) Middle lane (Nos. 9 to 12 inclusive) Mossvale street Mossvale lane Nethercommon lnchinnan road to March burn North street | Quay lane (Nos. 1 and 2 north side) Russell street Springbank road Smith’s lane Sneddon (New, Nos. 11 to 88 inclusive) Sneddon (Back, Nos. 13 to 59 inclusive) Victoria street Wallace street. |