village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
lying on the bank of 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 ...
in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
of
Houston and Killellan
Houston and Killellan is a civil parish in the county and council area of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It contains the villages of Houston and Crosslee, as well as a number of smaller settlements including Barochan and K ...
,
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 Re ...
, in Scotland.Historical perspective for Crosslee /ref> It lies around half a mile south of the old village centre of Houston and immediately west of
Craigends
Craigends is a residential area in the civil parish of Houston and Killellan in Renfrewshire, Scotland lying south of the River Gryffe and on the banks of the River Locher. Craigends is on the south-eastern edge of the village of Houston, bor ...
, although residential development has removed any significant open space between the three.
The village itself is largely composed of private housing and exists chiefly as a dormitory settlement. There is one
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
and a small
public park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...
.
History
Crosslee developed as a small community around a
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Although some were driven b ...
, which opened in late 1700s. The factory was later developed and operated by R&T Jack who manufactured thread on the site. During the World War I their major customer was Nobel and the factory converted to producing “gun cotton” for the war effort. After the war the factory was rebuilt with the original stone building being replaced by a concrete structure in the 1920s.
The factory was eventually sold to Nobel Explosives (who became ICI) in 1926. They operated it till it was sold to TH Lawson in 1959 where the company traded as Lawtex and they manufactured umbrellas. It was demolished in 1985. An existing mill building, which still exists beside the river, has been redeveloped to provide office space.
Governance
Crosslee is part of
Ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
9 (
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 i ...
, Crosslee and
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, ...
) for local authority elections to
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 Ren ...
, a four-councillor ward.
With the decline in the importance of the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
, Crosslee has found itself associated for local government purposes with Houston
Community Council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.
In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. In ...