Johnstone ( sco, Johnstoun, gd, Baile Iain) is a town in the administrative area of
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 ...
central Lowlands
The Central Lowlands, sometimes called the Midland Valley or Central Valley, is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and t ...
of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
The town lies west of neighbouring Paisley, west of the centre of the city of
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 ...
and north east of
Kilwinning
Kilwinning (, sco, Kilwinnin; gd, Cill D’Fhinnein) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is on the River Garnock, north of Irvine, about southwest of Glasgow. It is known as "The Crossroads of Ayrshire". Kilwinning was also a Civil Pa ...
.(Our History and Heritage) Homepage /ref> Part of the biggest
conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
planned community
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
which grew up around the house of Easter Cochrane, later known as
Johnstone Castle
Johnstone Castle ( sco, Johnstoun Castle) is a structure and former mansion in the town of Johnstone in Renfrewshire, Scotland.
It belonged to the Houstons of Milliken, who acquired the estate of Easter Cochrane in 1773. The original structure w ...
, seat of the Houston or Houstoun family who gained their name from the nearby village of
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. In 1782, the
Laird
Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...
, George Houstoun, commissioned designs for a series of regular residential streets, which now form the town centre. At this early stage of development, the town’s population including the local estate and rural hinterland was around 1,500. Two mirroring civic squares were also constructed in the town: Houstoun Square and Ludovic Square,Visiting Renfrewshire /ref> the latter named for the
Laird
Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...
's son, and by 1794 the town had gained its current parish church. Johnstone was raised to the status of a
police burgh
A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a "police system" for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975.
The 1833 act
The first police burghs were created under the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Wm IV c.46). This ...
with significant local powers, a status which is now defunct. The former court building continues to stand in Collier Street.
Industrial development brought both prosperity and poverty to the community.
Coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
occurred in Johnstone, although its main industry was related to the thread and cotton industries, with mills powered by the
Black 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 ...
which runs to the north of Johnstone. A six-storey cotton mill, one of the largest in Scotland, was built in 1782, and was rescued from failure by Robert Burns of Paisley sometime before 1812. Burns introduced
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the spinning frame, known as t ...
's methods for spinning cotton. As the community expanded,
slum
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
conditions formed in part of the town: the population by 1831 had increased to a sizeable 5,600. Unfortunately, the owners of Johnstone mill did not make much philanthropic progress among their worker population, and the situation was not addressed until the 1930s by a significant expansion of the size of Johnstone to include a number of purpose-built residential estates.
Much of Johnstone’s feudal heritage has disappeared. With the death of the last Laird in 1931,
Johnstone Castle
Johnstone Castle ( sco, Johnstoun Castle) is a structure and former mansion in the town of Johnstone in Renfrewshire, Scotland.
It belonged to the Houstons of Milliken, who acquired the estate of Easter Cochrane in 1773. The original structure w ...
fell into disrepair before being largely demolished in 1950. The remaining tower was purchased in 2001 and is now a private residence. On the site of the former grounds now lies two housing estates, Johnstone Castle and Cochrane Castle. Embedded within Cochrane Castle is the Cochrane Castle Golf Club, which once held the world record for the longest hole.
More recently, Johnstone History Museum opened in 2008 – notably becoming the world's first museum located inside a supermarket.
In 2015, the new Town Hall was completed at a cost of £14.5m.
Education
Thorn Public School, as it was originally called, opened in 1904. A new Thorn primary school opened in 1988, with the former building demolished in 1988. The old site is now occupied by a housing estate, although parts of the original walls are still standing. In 1950 St. David's Primary School was built along with its sister school Cochrane Castle Primary School. In 2007 the two schools were housed in a new shared building nearby, 'West Johnstone Shared Campus', just outside Thomas Shanks Public Park; as of 2022, the locations of the original schools (between Dundonald Avenue and Craigview Avenue) remain overgrown 'gap sites' awaiting redevelopment.
Johnstone High School opened on its current site off Beith Road in March 1965, the previous building in Ludovic Square having burnt down in 1960 (there is now a modern health centre on its site). Its redeveloped campus opened in late 2009.
The original St Cuthberts High School was built adjacent to Johnstone High School and shared the same driveway and car parks. The school closed in 1972 and moved to a new site in Hallhill Road, Spateston that year. The original school was demolished and replaced by a housing development to the left of the driveway of Johnstone High School. The school at Spateston closed at the end of the summer term of 2006 along with St Brendan's High School in
Linwood Linwood may refer to:
Places
Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia
*Linwood, South Australia
* Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales
Canada
* Linwood, Ontario
* Linwood, ...
due to falling rolls and the buildings' poor state of repair. These were replaced by a new build St Benedict's High School at Linwood (named in honour of St
Benedict of Nursia
Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orient ...
, the patron saint of Europe and of students). The old St Cuthbert's building was used to house several schools while their own premises were being refurbished (including Johnstone High School from 2008 to 2009). It was also subsequently demolished in 2010 and has since been replaced by new housing.Work starts on new homes at former St Cuthbert’s High school site Renfrewshire24, 25 January 2016
Politics
At a local government level, the town is split between the
Renfrewshire Council
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 ...
, which each elect four councillors each under the
Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
electoral system. These boundaries were first used in the
2017 Renfrewshire Council election
The 2017 Renfrewshire Council election took place on 4 May 2017 to elect members of Renfrewshire Council. The election was first to use the twelve ward (politics), wards created as a result of the 2015-16 Boundary Commission review, with eac ...
, with councillors elected across the two wards being three
Scottish National Party (SNP)
The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalism, Scottish nationalist and social democracy, social democratic list of political parties in Scotland, political party ...
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
and one
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
.
For elections to the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
, Johnstone is included in the constituency of Renfrewshire South which is currently held by Tom Arthur. Arthur became the first SNP
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.
Electoral system
The ad ...
for the area in the
2016 Scottish Parliament election
The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electi ...
Hugh Henry
Hugh Henry (born 12 February 1952) is a former Scottish Labour Party politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Renfrewshire South, formerly Paisley South, from 1999 to 2016.
Background
Henry was born in Glasgow and ...
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
the town is contained within the seat of
Paisley and Renfrewshire South
Paisley and Renfrewshire South is a constituency of the House of Commons, located in Renfrewshire, Scotland to the southwest of Glasgow. It elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system o ...
, which has been held by the SNP's
Mhairi Black
Mhairi Black (; or /vaɾʲɪ/ in Scottish Gaelic born 12 September 1994) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician, serving as the party's deputy leader in the House of Commons since December 2022. She has been a Member of Parliament (MP) ...
since the 2015 election. Black's election marked a significant political change for the town, as the area had traditionally been very strong for the Labour Party, which had continuously held constituencies containing Johnstone since
1945
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
Januar ...
. Black was subsequently re-elected in the
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, which is located northeast of the town. Moreover,
Prestwick International Airport
Glasgow Prestwick Airport () is an international airport serving the west of Scotland, situated northeast of the town of Prestwick in South Ayrshire and southwest of Glasgow. It is the less busy of the two airports serving the western part of ...
A dual carriageway, the A737, connects Johnstone to the M8 motorway to provide car transport links to central Scotland.
Bus services
McGill's Bus Service Limited operate the majority of local services from their depot in the west end of Johnstone, running the following routes serving the town
* 1/1A: Johnstone – Kilmacolm
* 2/2A: Johnstone – Bridge of Weir
* 20: Spateston – Johnstone Centre – Paisley – Whitehaugh (via Elderslie and the Royal Alexandria Hospital)
* 38: Glasgow – Paisley – Johnstone
* 904: Largs – Kilbirnie – Beith – Howwood – Johnstone – Paisley
Key Coaches are a local service operator based in Elderslie. They run the following services.
* 1: Johnstone – Johnstone Castle
* 4: Johnstone – Lochwinnoch
* 5: Johnstone – Spateston
Ayrshire
Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...
coast by the Johnstone railway station which is located at the east of the town on Thorn Brae. A second unmanned station
Milliken Park railway station
, symbol_location = gb
, symbol = rail
, image = Milliken Park railway station, Renfrewshire (geograph 3702543).jpg
, caption = Milliken Park station in 2013.
, borough = Kilbarchan, R ...
lies at the west end of the town, just off the Cochranemill road.
The railway line runs through the cutting of the old Glasgow–Ardrossan Canal, although the route of the canal runs under the original bridge, Dick's Bridge, at the bottom of the Thorn Brae, where the canal basin was situated and in winter, the rim of the canal basin sometimes becomes visible.
It may be noted that a second railway line ran through the town serving the villages of
Kilbarchan
Kilbarchan ( gd, Cill Bhearchain) is a village and civil parish in central Renfrewshire, in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The village's name means "cell (chapel) of St. Barchan". It is known for its former weaving industry.
History
...
,
Bridge of Weir
Bridge of Weir is a village within the Renfrewshire council area and wider historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lying within the Gryffe Valley, Bridge of Weir owes its name to the historic crossing point th ...
, and
Kilmacolm
Kilmacolm () is a village and civil parish in the Inverclyde council area, and the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the northern slope of the Gryffe Valley, southeast of Greenock and aroun ...
National Cycle Route
The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...
75). It had a station serving the Northern, more industrial areas of town,
Johnstone North railway station
Johnstone North railway station was a railway station serving the town of Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland as part of the Dalry and North Johnstone Line on the Glasgow and South Western Railway.
History
The station opened on 1 June 1905.Butt, ...
.
Notable inhabitants
*
Sir William Arrol
Sir William Arrol (13 February 1839 – 20 February 1913) was a Scottish civil engineer, bridge builder, and Liberal Unionist Party politician.
Career
The son of a spinner, Arrol was born in Houston, Renfrewshire, and started work in a cotton ...
– Worked as a boy at the Johnstone mills before becoming the architect of
Forth Rail Bridge
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...
and
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule and Suspended-deck suspension bridge, suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones (architect), Horace Jones and e ...
in London
* Adam Brown – professional ice hockey player; born in Johnstone in 1920, active in the NHL 1941–1952
*
Tommy Bryce
Tommy Bryce (born 27 January 1960 in Johnstone) is a Scottish former footballer. Bryce had a playing career spanning 21 seasons from 1980–81 with Scottish Football League clubs Kilmarnock, Stranraer, Queen of the South, Clydebank, Ayr Unite ...
– professional footballer
*
William Clunas
William McLean Clunas (29 April 1899 – 1 September 1967) was a Scottish people, Scottish association football, footballer who played for Sunderland A.F.C., Sunderland and the Scotland national football team, Scotland national team, primarily in ...
– Scotland and Sunderland footballer; played in the first England v Scotland match at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in 1924
*
Hunter Davies
Edward Hunter Davies (born 7 January 1936) is a British author, journalist and broadcaster. His books include the only authorised biography of the Beatles.
Early life
Davies was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, to Scottish parents. For four ...
– journalist, author and broadcaster
* John Deans – professional footballer
*
Robert Pollock Gillespie
Robert Pollock Gillespie FRSE (1903–1977) was a Scottish mathematician. He was twice President of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society (1946–7 and 1968–9). He published several important books on mathematics.
Life
He was born on 21 Novembe ...
FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
– mathematician
* John Grant (Jock Strap) – vocalist of 1970s punk band
The Straps
The Straps are an England, English streetpunk band, formed in 1977 in Battersea, South London by vocalist Howard Jackson and guitarists Dave Reeves & Steve MacIntosh & Brad Day on drums Renee Houston – music hall and comedy actress; born in Johnstone in 1902, attended St Margaret's Primary School
*
Jim Leighton
James Leighton (born 24 July 1958) is a Scottish former professional association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Leighton started his career with Aberdeen F.C., Aberdeen, where he won seven d ...
– professional footballer, attended St. Cuthbert's Secondary School
*
Phyllis Logan
Phyllis Logan (born 11 January 1956) is a Scottish actress, known for playing Lady Jane Felsham in ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes (later Carson) in ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer f ...
– actress; attended Johnstone High School in the 1970s
*
Annie McGuire
Annie McGuire is a Scottish reporter who presented BBC Scotland football phone-in show 'Your Call' and Sportsound. She also did guest links for Radio Scotland's New Music Zone and T in the Park coverage and stood in for presenter Vic Galloway. ...
– BBC Journalist, born in Elderslie, attended St.Cuthbert's Secondary School
* Alexander McLachlan – poet, born at the Brig in 1818
* John Pitcairn, Jr. – Scottish-American industrialist; born in Johnstone, emigrated to the United States aged five
*
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...
– celebrity chef and TV host, born in Johnstone
* Sir George Houston Reid – 4th Prime Minister of Australia (18 August 1904 – 5 July 1905); was Prime Minister for ten months and 17 days, Australia's first federal Leader of the Opposition, federal government’s first High Commissioner to the UK
*
Peter Tobin
Peter Britton Tobin (27 August 1946 – 8 October 2022) was a Scottish convicted serial killer and sex offender who served a whole life order at HM Prison Edinburgh for three murders committed between 1991 and 2006. Police also investigated Tob ...
– serial killer, born in Johnstone in 1946
* Tommy Turner – professional footballer
See also
*
Johnstone Burgh F.C.
Johnstone Burgh Football Club are a Scottish football (soccer), football club based in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, and play in .
History
The club were formed in 1956, in response to an article in the "Johnstone & Linwood Gazette" newspaper from ...