Kilbarchan ( gd, Cill Bhearchain) is a

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 ...

and

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 ...

in central Renfrewshire, in the west central Lowlands 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 village's name means "cell (chapel) of St. Barchan". It is known for its former weaving industry.

History

The village was once one of many

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

villages, and at one time there were 800

handlooms A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but t ...

in the village. The weavers were active in the

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...

movement which sought parliamentary reform, and Kilbarchan played a part in the agitation of the so-called Radical War of 1820. One cottage named the "Weavers Cottage" built in 1723 has been conserved by the National Trust for Scotland with weaving still in operation, and guides demonstrate handloom weaving to visitors. Kilbarchan was the birthplace of Mary Barbour, the Scottish political activist who led the

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 popu ...

rent strike A rent strike is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants come together and agree to refuse to pay their rent ''en masse'' until a specific list of demands is met by the landlord. This c ...

of 1915 and later became

's first woman councillor.

Lilias Day

The main annual event in the village calendar is the celebration of Lilias Day, on the first Saturday of June, during which hundreds of visitors come to Kilbarchan to watch the parade and join in the festivities. The origins are unknown however the current run of annual celebrations started in 1968 by the Kilbarchan Primary School Parents Association. Lilias day had been previously celebrated in 1931, 1933 and 1934. There are no other records of other Lilias Days prior to that in the twentieth century.

Habbie Simpson Habbie Simpson (1550–1620) was the town piper in the Scottish village of Kilbarchan in Renfrewshire. Today Simpson is chiefly known as the subject of the poem the ''Lament for Habbie Simpson'' (also known as ''The life and death of the piper o ...

is one of the main focuses of the celebration of Lilias day, during which he "comes to life" from his statue on the steeple, the statue being covered by a flag for the day. Inhabitants of Kilbarchan are informally known as "Habbies" after the famous village piper

Demographics

Kilbarchan is the home of Kilbarchan Amateur Athletics Club, and contains a Primary school, a Girl Guiding Centre, a Scout Hall, a pipe band and two churches, Kilbarchan West and Kilbarchan East which are now a united church in the former East church campus. There are two village pubs, the Trust and Habbies which was formerly known as the Glenleven. The Trust has been in establishment since 1904. It is also the village's source of live music on a Friday night.

Transport links

Kilbarchan railway station Kilbarchan railway station was a railway station serving the village of Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The station was part of the Dalry and North Johnstone Line on the Glasgow and South Western Railway. History The station opened o ...

opened on 1 June 1905, and closed to passengers on 27 June 1966. It now serves as the entrance to cycle track number seven, although there are currently motions in the local transport authority to reopen the line. However, since closure of the line developments on the trackbed have included the construction of the A737 (Johnstone bypass); a Morrisons superstore on the site of and housing on the site of Lochwinnoch station.

Notable people

* Mary Barbour, political activist, was born here *

Campbell Douglas Archibald Campbell Douglas (usually simply referred to as Campbell Douglas) (14 June 1828 – 14 April 1910) was a Scottish architect based primarily in Glasgow. He designed many churches in Glasgow and Edinburgh, especially those for the Fre ...

, architect, was born and raised here * Prof Thomas Gibson

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 ...

professor of plastic surgery and bioengineering, born here *

Agnes Lyle Agnes Lyle or ''Agnes Lile'' (1700s – 1800s) was a British ballad singer who lived in Kilbarchan in Renfrewshire. Her songs which she had learnt from her father were transcribed by William Motherwell and published by Francis James Child. Life ...

, a ballad singer, lived here in 1825. * Hugh McIver, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

* John Stirling (1654–1727), Principal of Glasgow University and

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states t ...

in 1707

References

External links

* * {{authority control Villages in Renfrewshire