Renfrewshire (historic)

Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It contains the local government council areas of Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, as well as parts of Glasgow and is occasionally named Greater Renfrewshire to distinguish the county from the modern council area.

The county borders the city of Glasgow and Lanarkshire to the east and Ayrshire to the south and west. The Firth of Clyde forms its northern boundary, with Dunbartonshire and Argyllshire on the opposing banks.

Renfrewshire's early history is marked by ancient British and Roman settlement. Renfrewshire can trace its origin to the feudal lands at Strathgryfe granted to Walter Fitzalan, the first High Steward of Scotland. Robert III of Scotland, a descendant of Fitzalan, established the shire of Renfrew-based out of the Royal burgh of Renfrew, the site of the House of Stuart's castle and Renfrewshire's county town.

During the Industrial Revolution, many of the larger towns became important centres of commerce and manufacturing. The goods produced were chiefly cottons, calicos and silks building on the county's long weaving heritage. Other industries such as ship building, distilleries and printworks also contributed to the economy. At this time, Paisley was the largest urban and commercial centre in the county by some margin. This distinction saw the emergence of local government focused in Paisley, rather than the county town of Renfrew. Paisley remains the administrative centre of the Renfrewshire council area.

Parts of the county, such as Govan and Pollokshaws in 1912 and Nitshill in 1926, were incorporated into Glasgow during the early 20th century as the city expanded. Renfrewshire was superseded by the Strathclyde local government region in 1975, until its abolition in 1996. The modern unitary council areas in the county – Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde – were formed as districts within the Strathclyde region (although not with the same boundaries or in the case of East Renfrewshire the same names as the later authorities).

History

Toponymy

The name of Renfrewshire derives from its county town, Renfrew, which has been attested since the Roman occupation of Britain. The name is believed to originate from Common Brittonic/Cumbric, from ren, as in Scottish Gaelic: ''rinn'', or as in Welsh: ''rhyn'' (a point or cape of land) and from frew, as in Welsh: ''fraw'', or ''ffrau'' (flow of water). This suggests a point of land near the flow of water, such as at the confluence of the Cart and Clyde rivers. It is rendered in la, Praefectura Renfroana.

The county is sometimes known as Greater Renfrewshire to distinguish it from the Renfrewshire council area.

Early history

The earliest evidence of human activity in the area is traces of an Iron Age fort in the Busby area and a pre-Roman settlement in Overlee. When the Romans advanced in the year 80 from the Solway Firth, the territory that would later become Renfrewshire was occupied by the Damnonii, a British tribe.

The principal Roman stronghold in the area was at Vanduara ( Paisley). Following the end of Roman rule in Britain in 410, the Cumbrian Britons, with their capital at Dumbarton, retained a hold on all the territory west of the Lothian — the Kingdom of Strathclyde. During the High Middle Ages, Strathclyde was conquered by the Kingdom of Alba, which in turn developed into the Kingdom of Scotland.

In the 12th century, during the reign of David I of Scotland, the Anglo-Norman nobleman Walter Fitzalan fled the English county of Shropshire on account of the conflict between the Empress Matilda and Stephen. Walter rallied to the support of the Empress, but when her cause was lost Walter befriended David I, King of Scots snd an uncle of Matilda, and became David's ''Dapifer'' or Steward, as the first Lord High Steward of Scotland. Accompanied by his brother Simon, Walter came to Scotland about 1136 and fought for Scotland at the Battle of the Standard at Northallerton in 1138 under the command of David I's son, Prince Henry.

Fitzalan settled in the area and was granted the lands of Strathgryfe, which provided a basis for the later county, by David I. In 1163 Walter founded, first at Renfrew but shortly afterwards at Paisley, a house of monks of the Cluniac order drawn from the priory of Much Wenlock, in his native county of Shropshire. The monastery steadily grew and by 1219 became Paisley Abbey.

It is traditionally believed that Sir William Wallace, a knight and military leader during the period surrounding the Wars of Scottish Independence, was born in 1272 at Elderslie in the county.

Emergence of the county

The descendants of Walter Fitz Alan would eventually form the powerful House of Stuart, with 'Stewart' as a corruption of 'Steward'. In 1371, Robert Stewart was crowned King of Scotland following a marriage between his father Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland and Marjorie Bruce, daughter of King Robert I of Scotland.

In 1402 Robert II's son, King Robert III, established the shire of Renfrew from territory previously within the shire of Lanark and based out of the town of Renfrew, the site of the Stewart's castle. From this point onwards, the county has been closely tied to the monarchy and the heir apparent to the British monarch, currently The Prince Charles, holds the title of Baron of Renfrew as well as High Steward of Scotland.

Modern history

Shires of Scotland traditionally mirrored sheriffdoms with the county's Sheriff holding considerable position. From 1667, Scotland's counties were covered by Commissioners of Supply with considerable powers of local government. However the judicial roles of the Sheriff continued to overlap with executive government in their shires. In 1794, the first Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire, William McDowall, was appointed when permanent lieutenancies were appointed by Royal Warrant to all the counties of Scotland as the monarch's military representative.

Following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, Renfrewshire - as with the other counties of Scotland - gained greater powers and became governed by an elected county council, a position that remained until 1975. The centre of local government was moved from Renfrew to Paisley. Commissioners of Supply continued to exist with much reduced powers following the 1889 Act, until they were abolished by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929. During this time, a significant portion of eastern Renfrewshire became absorbed into the growing City of Glasgow, such as the Parish of Cathcart, parts of the Parish of Govan, and parts of the Parish of Renfrew lying north of the River Clyde (containing Yoker, Scotstoun and Jordanhill).

Renfrewshire was significantly involved in the Radical War of 1820, with many of the local industrial workers participating in the rioting and strikes.

In the Second World War, Renfrewshire suffered due to its shipbuilding industries on the banks of the River Clyde. Heavy bombing was inflicted over the 6th and 7 May 1941 in an event referred to as the Greenock Blitz. On 10 May 1941, Rudolf Hess, a leading official in the government of Nazi Germany, parachuted into a field near Eaglesham on a secret mission to meet Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton for peace negotiations, and was instead arrested by a farmhand with a pitchfork and imprisoned. It is believed Hess was privately distressed by the war with the United Kingdom as he had hoped that Britain would accept Germany as an ally. Hess may have hoped to score a diplomatic victory by sealing a peace between the German Reich and British Empire.

Following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, Renfrewshire was incorporated into the Strathclyde region and divided amongst three districts: Renfrew District