Inchinnan (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''Innis Fhionghain'') is a small village in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

, Scotland. The village is located on the main

A8 road A8, A08, A 8 or A-8 may refer to: Electronics * ARM Cortex-A8, a processor used in mobile devices * Apple A8, a 64-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. *AMD A8, an AMD Accelerated Processing Unit * Samsung Galaxy A8, various smartpho ...

between

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

and

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, just south east of the town of

Erskine Erskine (, sco, Erskin, gd, Arasgain) is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire, and historic county of the same name, situated in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde, providing the lo ...

History

The name of Inchinnan village is derived from the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

word 'Innis', which means an island or low-lying land near a river or stream. The other part of the name is taken from

Saint Inan Saint Inan (Evan) was the patron saint of Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, where he is said to have resided during the 9th century AD. He is reputed to have come from Iona, and to have died in Irvine, where his tomb was reputed to have been the ...

, a 9th-century

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...

. An ornamental cast iron enclosure near the ford protects "St Conval's Chariot" which is supposedly the stone that brought Saint Conval from Ireland to Inchinnan around 590, and a 12th-century church dedicated to Saint Conval was given to the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Malcolm ...

. Another church called 'Hallows Church' replaced it in 1900. The newer church was then replaced by part of the airfield at Abbotsinch. The latest church (Inchinnan Parish) is in the centre of the village. It contains burial stones possibly dating back to around the 9th century. In the same enclosure as St Conval's Chariot, "Argyll's Stone" was supposedly where the 9th Earl of Argyll rested when he was captured in 1685, before he was executed in Edinburgh on the

Maiden Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

. The confluence of the rivers

Black Cart The River Cart ( sco, River Cairt) is a tributary of the River Clyde, Scotland, which it joins from the west roughly midway between the towns of Erskine and Renfrew and opposite the town of Clydebank. The River Cart itself is very short, bein ...

and White Cart is situated near Inchinnan. Travelers crossed by a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and later by ferry. A stone bridge was built to cross the Black Cart and a

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...

crosses the White Cart. In the 1700s there were quarries within the village. The quarries produced high quality freestone right up until the 1900s. In 1809-1812 stone from the quarries built the nearby Black and White Cart bridges. William Gilmour, farmer of Town of Inchinnan Farm, was the husband of Charlotte Gilmour who stood trial for his murder by arsenical poisoning in 1843.

Landmarks

The

at the border with

was replaced in 1923 by a

, which was made by Sir William Arrol & Company. It is still capable of opening, as the

Doosan Babcock Altrad Babcock Ltd (formerly ''Doosan Babcock Ltd.'') is part of Altrad. It is a power sector OEM, construction, upgrade, and after-market services company that offers specialist services and technologies to the fossil-fired power generation, ...

factory at Renfrew requires the capability to move large loads by river. The bridge crosses

White Cart Water The River Cart ( sco, River Cairt) is a tributary of the River Clyde, Scotland, which it joins from the west roughly midway between the towns of Erskine and Renfrew and opposite the town of Clydebank. The River Cart itself is very short, being f ...

and onto the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

. Inchinnan hosts an art deco style

category A listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

building called

India of Inchinnan India of Inchinnan is now a commercial site in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland, that was formerly used for various industrial uses. It includes the former office block of India Tyres of Inchinnan - a Category A listed building in the art deco ...

. It is the former office block of India Tyres factory which occupied the site from 1927 until the early 1980s. It has now been renovated into private offices. The company also built two groups of houses to accommodate its workers. These streets were called Allands Avenue and India Drive. Prior to its use as a tyre factory, the site was used by

William Beardmore and Company William Beardmore and Company was a British engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 people. It was founded and ...

to build

airships An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air Powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding a ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Several airships, the No's R24, R27,

R34 R34 may refer to: * R34 (New York City Subway car) * R34 (South Africa) * HM Airship ''R.34'', a rigid airship of the Royal Air Force * , a destroyer of the Royal Navy * Nissan Skyline (R34), a mid-size car * Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34), a sports ca ...

and the R36 were built on this site. The company built 52 houses in Inchinnan, at Beardmore Cottages, to house its workers. Inchinnan has a large industrial estate within the town. There are a few manufacturing companies left within the area. Some of the companies associated with Inchinnan past and present include: Reekie Machine Tools, Scot Tubes, Gas Measurement Instruments, Bairdswear, Armour Park, Metecno, Aulds and

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

M&Co M&Co Trading Limited, previously Mackays Stores Limited until its 2020 administration, (previously trading as Mackays, now trading as M&Co.) is a Scottish chain store selling women's, men's, and children's clothes, as well as small homeware ...

(Mackays) has its head office at Caledonia House in the industrial estate. There is a bus depot in Inchinnan which belonged to

Arriva Scotland West Arriva Scotland West was a bus company based in Inchinnan, near Paisley, Scotland. It was formed in 1997 as a rebranding of the former Clydeside 2000 company when purchased by Arriva. On 26 March 2012, the business was sold to McGill's Bus Serv ...

and before that

Western SMT Western Scottish Motor Traction Co. Limited was a bus operator in south-west Scotland from 1929 to 1985. The company was formed in 1929 by the renaming of Scottish General Transport Co. Ltd, after the British Electric Traction subsidiary forme ...

(later

Clydeside Scottish Clydeside Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Western SMT Company Ltd. The company operated until May 1989, when it was remerged with Western Scottish, the successor co ...

). In December 2011, it was announced that Arriva had agreed to sell the company to the independent operator

McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.spoil tip A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quant ...

from a disused

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

mine. This hillock is now covered with trees. The mine, known as the Blythswood mine was abandoned by 1875. A palace was situated within the village about 1506. It was built by Matthew,

Lord Darnley Lord Darnley is a noble title associated with a Scottish Lordship of Parliament, first created in 1356 for the family of Stewart of Darnley and tracing a descent to the Dukedom of Richmond in England. The title's name refers to Darnley in Scot ...

, second

Earl of Lennox The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty. Ancient earls The first earl ...

. Remains of the building known as ''Palace of Inchinnan'' could be seen up to 1710 but have now since been destroyed. It was situated on the border with Erskine; near to Flures Drive in

. An inventory was made of the contents of the palace and chapel around the year 1570. The chapel goods included; two missals, statues of Jesus as a baby, the Virgin Mary and St Anne, with an ivory statue for the hanging chandelier.

Wilhelmina Alexander Wilhelmina Alexander (1756–1843), was born at Newton House, Elderslie, Renfrewshire. She was the 4th daughter of Claud Alexander of Newton and Joanna, daughter of Alexander Cuninghame of Craigends. Her lasting fame derives from being Robert B ...

, famous as

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

' 'The Bonnie Lass of Ballochmyle', is buried in the Old Inchinnan Cemetery near the Black Cart Water. The site has restricted access and is very overgrown. The Inchinnan Cruising club was established in 1932. It is sited east of the village. The disused Park or Fulton's Quay stands on the River Clyde in the parish of Inchinnan. It was used privately by the owners of Park House.

Education

Inchinnan Primary school is the only school within the village. It is a

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

state school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...

. For secondary education the village falls within the

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of Park Mains High School in Erskine. For Roman Catholic denomination education, the nearest primary school is St Anne's in Erskine and

Trinity High School Trinity High School is the name of high schools: United Kingdom * Trinity High School, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland * Trinity High School, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland * Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, in Redditch, England *Trini ...

in Renfrew is the nearest secondary school. Inchinnan Community Nursery provides pre-school education within the village.

Transport

Inchinnan is served by Glasgow International Airport, which is located 2 km south of the town. The village has close links to the nearby M8 motorway and

Erskine Bridge The Erskine Bridge is a multi span cable-stayed box girder bridge spanning the River Clyde in west central Scotland. The bridge connects West Dunbartonshire with Renfrewshire and can be used by all types of motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrian ...

. Inchinnan is serviced by

McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Paisley,

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

Glasgow Airport gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Ghlaschu , image = Glasgow Airport logo.svg , image-width = 200 , image2 = GlasgowAirportFromAir.jpg , image2-width = 250 , IATA = GLA , ICAO = EGPF , type = Public , owner = AGS Airports , hub = *easy ...

Geography

Inchinnan is situated in the north east of Renfrewshire. It lies to the south of the

and close to where the

River Gryffe The River Gryfe (or Gryffe) is a river and tributary of the Black Cart Water, running through the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It gives its name to the surrounding Gryffe Valley, also known as Strathgryfe. Flow The Gryfe emerges ...

meets the

River Cart The River Cart ( sco, River Cairt) is a tributary of the River Clyde, Scotland, which it joins from the west roughly midway between the towns of Erskine and Renfrew and opposite the town of Clydebank. The River Cart itself is very short, being f ...

. The village borders a number of nearby settlements, some separated by a rural hinterland.

Gallery

File:IMGP0444 Inshinnan Bridge v1.png, Black Cart Bridge File:Inchinnan Cruising Club - geograph.org.uk - 1159289.jpg, Inchinnan Cruising Club File:Arriva bus depot, Inchinnan - geograph.org.uk - 500843.jpg, Bus Depot File:Park Hall Nursery, Inchinnan - geograph.org.uk - 59835.jpg, Park Hall Nursery File:Main entrance to Rolls-Royce factory, Inchinnan - geograph.org.uk - 501223.jpg, Rolls-Royce Factory File:Town of Inchinnan Farm, Renfrewshire, Scotland.jpg, Town of Inchinnan Farm

References

External links

FamilySearch - Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland
{{authority control Villages in Renfrewshire Erskine, Renfrewshire