Paisley, Renfrewshire

Paisley War Memorial, also known as Paisley Cenotaph, is a war memorial in at the centre of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. It was unveiled in 1924, became a Category B listed building in 1980, and was upgraded to Category A in 1997. The memorial was commissioned after the First World War, following an open competition which attracted 195 entries. A public subscription raised funding of £14,000 to build the memorial. It comprises a bronze equestrian sculptural group on a 25 ft (7.6 m) high rectangular stone plinth. The plinth rises on four steps from a stone platform with a retaining wall on three sides, open to the west. The structure was designed by the architect Sir Robert Lorimer, and constructed by Neil McLeod & Sons Limited with stone carving by Allen & Sons, using about 200 tons of grey granite imported from Shap Fell in Cumbria. The bronze sculpture group stop the plinth, about 3 m (9.8 ft) high and weighing about 4.5 tons, was designed by Alice Meredith Williams and cast by JW Singer & Sons. Williams had given her competition entry the title "The Spirit of the Crusaders": a model created for the competition is held by the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. It depicts a medieval knight in armour mounted on a horse, accompanied by four infantry soldiers in First World War battledress, with muddy boots, greatcoats, and helmets. The knight carries a shield and pennant bearing the St Andrew's saltire for Scotland. The arms of the burgh of Paisley, of St Andrew, and of St George, are carved into the front (south) and rear (north) faces of the plinth, and bronze plaques are mounted on the east and west faces. Towards the bottom of the south face of the plinth, the stone bears an inscription which reads "TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY/ OF THE 1,953 MEN OF PAISLEY/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES ON LAND/ AND SEA IN THE GREAT WAR". After the Second World War, a further inscription as added "AND IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE/ MEN AND WOMEN OF THIS BURGH WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE WORLD WAR 1939-1945". The memorial was unveiled on 27 July 1924, before a crowd of 20,000 people, by Mrs Macnab, a widow who lost three sons in the Great War. Prayers were led by Rev. Dr A M MacLean, of Paisley Abbey, accompanied by the Provost Glover and the former Provost John Robertson who was chairman of the War Memorial Committee. After this memorial, Williams collaborated with Lorimer on sculptures for the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh.

The Glen Cinema disaster was a deadly human crush caused by a smoking film canister at a cinema in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, on 31 December 1929. The resulting panic and stampede killed 69 children and injured up to 40 others; the final death toll was 71. It is considered one of the worst disasters in Scottish history. The building that housed the Glen Cinema still stands, and currently houses a furniture store.

The Paisley Gilmour Street rail accident occurred on 16 April 1979 at 19:50. The 19:40 Inverclyde Line service from Glasgow Central to Wemyss Bay, operated by two Class 303 trains, crossed from the Down Fast Line to the Down Gourock Line under clear signals at Wallneuk Junction immediately to the east of Paisley Gilmour Street railway station. It collided head-on with the 18:58 Ayrshire Coast Line special service from Ayr to Glasgow Central, formed of two Class 126 diesel multiple units, which had left Platform 2 against a red signal P31.

Paisley Gilmour Street railway station is the largest of the four stations serving the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland (the others being Paisley St. James, Paisley Canal and Hawkhead), and acts as the town's principal railway station. The station is managed by ScotRail and serves the Ayrshire Coast Line and Inverclyde Line, 7+1⁄4 miles (11.7 km) west of Glasgow Central. The station is protected as a category B listed building.

Paisley Town Hall is a public hall in Abbey Close, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The building, which is being converted into a centre for performing arts, is a Category A listed building.

Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about 7 miles (11 kilometres) west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, based on a former Cluniac monastery. Following the Reformation in the 16th century, it became a Church of Scotland parish kirk.

Abbey Bridge is grade B listed road-bridge over the White Cart Water in the centre of Paisley in Scotland. It was erected in 1879, widened in 1933, and comprehensively restored in 2009.

St Matthew's Church in Paisley is notable for its Art Nouveau architecture by WD McLennan, and stained glass window by Robert Anning Bell. The church was built between 1905 and 1907 (1907) and shares a small traffic island on Gordon Street with a (now disused) fire station. Originally called St George's East Free Church, it became a Church of Scotland with reunification in 1929, and was later renamed St Matthew's. Due to falling numbers, the church closed in 1988 and was taken over by the Church of the Nazarene, who had previously been meeting in a hall in nearby Orchard Street. Twenty-eight existing members St Matthews joined with the congregation from the Nazarene church. The architecture of St Matthew's is described by Historic Scotland as an "Art Nouveau interpretation of Perpendicular Gothic". It was designed by William Daniel McLennan, from Paisley, who was himself a member of the congregation. McLennan, a contemporary of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, was notable for his Art Nouveau architecture, which is found in a number of houses in Paisley as well as the Bull Inn and another church in the Ralston area of the town. The original plans included a massive spire but this idea was abandoned. McLennan also designed the interior furnishings, including the organ case, font and pulpit, and exterior features such as the railings and notice board. The church interior consists of a wide nave with galleries to the right side and the rear. The pulpit on the left hand side features a wooden crown of thorns above. The right of the choir features a large organ, which is still in use. A number of small rooms are found around the church along with halls to the rear. A tulip motif appears throughout the building, featuring on woodwork, stone, stained glass, the pulpit's brass lectern, and even the light switches. The windows are mostly plain white with small coloured-glass features. The exception is the huge stained glass window on the west side behind the choir, which is by Robert Anning Bell. This is not the original (which was similar in design to the others) but was replaced as a memorial to the Great War. St Matthew's bears comparison with Mackintosh's Queen's Cross Church in Glasgow (which is no longer used as a church). Some consider it to be the most significant Art Nouveau church in Scotland.

Paisley Sheriff Court is a municipal structure in St James Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The complex, which was the headquarters of Renfrewshire County Council and is currently used as a courthouse, is a Category A listed building.

The Laigh Kirk, Paisley was a congregation of the Church of Scotland and the original Burgh church of Paisley.

Paisley (Hamilton Street) railway station was an early railway station in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. It was built in 1837 by the Paisley and Renfrew Railway; and, together with the station at Renfrew Wharf, was one of two terminal stations on the line. Both stations offered passengers and goods facilities.

Paisley Canal railway station is a railway station in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and lies on the Paisley Canal Line.