Paisley - The Heritage
Paisley's magnificent medieval abbey was founded by the fitzAlan family which became High Stewards of Scotland and later the Stewart royal house, from which our present queen is descended. The Abbey welcomes visitors throughout the year.
Paisley’s real claim to fame is as a centre of the textile industry in the 19th and 20th centuries. First handloom weavers became world famous for their output of “paisley” shawls, then the great thread mills of the Coats and Clark families employed ten thousand local people in the manufacture of sewing thread.
Visit Paisley Museum and Art Galleries to see the world’s finest collection of paisley shawls and pattern books. Sma’ Shot Cottage in Shuttle Street is a restored 18th century weavers cottage where the Old Paisley Society explains the daily life of the weavers and the artisans of the 19th century. During the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries Paisley’s prosperity depended on the great thread mills. Visit the Thread Mill Museum in the Mile End Mill and the Anchor Mill nearby by arrangement. The wealthy mill owners gifted to the town a wonderful legacy of buildings - the Museum, Coats Observatory, the Clark Town Hall, Thomas Coats Memorial Church and others.
