Johnstone, Renfrewshire
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Johnstone (,
) is a town in the
administrative area Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
of
Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...
and larger historic county of the same name, in the west
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 ...
of
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. The town lies west of neighbouring Paisley, west of the centre of the city of
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and north east of
Kilwinning Kilwinning (, ; ) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the banks of the River Garnock in Ayrshire, west/central Scotland, about southwest of Glasgow. Kilwinning's neighbours are the coastal towns of Stevenston to the west an ...
.(Our History and Heritage) Homepage
/ref> Part of the biggest
conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of 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 ...
in Scotland, Johnstone is at the western edge of the Greater Glasgow Urban Area.


History

Johnstone was largely a
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 (, ) 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 was substantially enl ...
, seat of the Houston or Houstoun family who gained their name from the nearby village of
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. In 1782, the
Laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...
, 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 a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...
'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 Will. 4. c. 46 ...
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 resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
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 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 formed from the conf ...
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 ...
's methods for spinning cotton. As the community expanded,
slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, 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 p ...
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 (, ) 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 was substantially enl ...
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. The town is home to
Johnstone Pipe Band Johnstone Pipe Band is a grade 1 competitive pipe band from Johnstone, Scotland which was established in 1943. The band is famous for its progress where it has moved from Grade 4, right up to its current position in the premier Grade 1. Histor ...
who compete in the highest level of pipe band competitions, Grade 1. The band was founded in 1943 and wears the Blue Mackay tartan.


Education

Thorn Public School, as it was originally called, opened in 1904. A new Thorn primary school opened in 1988, the same year that the former building was demolished. 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, 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 (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...
, 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


Religion

The town contains churches of several Christian denominations: three
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
, two
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, one
Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...
, one
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
and one
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
.


Sports

The town is home to the
Johnstone Burgh Johnstone Burgh Football Club is a Scottish football (soccer), football club based in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, and play in . History The club was formed in 1956, in response to an article in the "Johnstone & Linwood Gazette" newspaper from a ...
and Thorn Athletic football teams, which currently play in the Premier and Third Divisions of the
West of Scotland Football League The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior football league based in the west of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 20 ...
respectively.


Politics

The town is split between the Johnstone South and Elderslie and Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch wards for elections to
Renfrewshire Council Renfrewshire Council is the local authority for Renfrewshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It consists of 43 councillors who elect from among their number a provost to serve as the council's convener and ceremonial head and a leader o ...
, which elect four councillors each using the
Single Transferable Vote The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...
. The
2022 Renfrewshire Council election The 2022 Renfrewshire Council elections took place on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 Scottish local elections on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government, Scottish local authorities were up for election. The election used the 12 war ...
saw councillors elected across the two wards being four Labour Party, three Scottish National Party (SNP) 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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
. For elections to the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
, Johnstone is included in the constituency of Renfrewshire South, currently held by SNP politician Tom Arthur since 2016. Johnstone is also included in the West Scotland region which elects seven additional members. In the
UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
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 ...
, represented by the Labour Party's
Johanna Baxter Johanna Baxter is a Scottish people, Scottish Scottish Labour, Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (UK Parliament constituency), Paisley ...
since the
2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...
.


Transport


Air

Johnstone is served by
Glasgow International Airport Glasgow Airport, also known as Glasgow International Airport () and formerly Abbotsinch Airport, is an international airport located in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, west of Glasgow city centre. In 2019 it handled 8.84 million passeng ...
, which is located northeast of the town. Moreover, Prestwick International Airport is a 30-to-40-minute train journey from
Johnstone railway station Johnstone (Renfrewshire) railway station serves the town of Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line south west of Glasgow Central. Johnstone has no ticket gates but ticket check ...
.


Road

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 * 1A/1B: Johnstone – Kilmacolm * 20: Johnstone – Paisley (via Cochrane Castle, Johnstone Castle, Elderslie and the Royal Alexandria Hospital) * 30: Johnstone - Spateston * 32: Johnstone - Kilbarchan * 38: Glasgow – Paisley – Johnstone - Spateston/Kilbarchan * 307: Johnstone - Lochwinnoch * 904: Largs – Kilbirnie – Beith – Howwood – Johnstone – Paisley Shuttle Buses, based in Kilwinning, Ayrshire runs the following services: * 1: Johnstone – Johnstone Castle * 4: Johnstone – Lochwinnoch * 5: Johnstone – Spateston


Rail

Johnstone is linked to Glasgow Central, Paisley and the
Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
coast by the
Johnstone railway station Johnstone (Renfrewshire) railway station serves the town of Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line south west of Glasgow Central. Johnstone has no ticket gates but ticket check ...
which is located at the east of the town on Thorn Brae. A second unstaffed station
Milliken Park railway station Milliken Park railway station serves the west end of Johnstone and the south west of the village of Kilbarchan in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line. History The original Milliken Par ...
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 (; ) is a village and civil parish in central Renfrewshire, in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is almost contiguous with Johnstone, about 5 miles or 8 km west of the centre of Paisley. The village's name means "cell (chape ...
,
Bridge of Weir Bridge of Weir is a village within the Renfrewshire council areas of Scotland, council area and wider counties of Scotland, historic county of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Lying within the Gryf ...
, and
Kilmacolm Kilmacolm () is a village and Civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Inverclyde council area, and the Counties of Scotland, historic county of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on th ...
; the line now forms part of the Clyde to Forth cycle route (
National Cycle Route The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million ...
75). It had a station serving the Northern, more industrial areas of town, Johnstone North railway station.


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. Early life The son of a spinner, Arrol was born in Houston, Renfrewshire, and started work in a co ...
– 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, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...
in London *
Eddie Blair James Edward Blair (August 5, 1871 – March 8, 1913) was an American football player and coach and physician. He was early professional football player with the Latrobe Athletic Association. He later relocated to Burlington, New Jersey where he ...
(1927–2020), jazz trumpeter, born in Johnstone * 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) is a Scottish former footballer. Bryce had a playing career spanning 21 seasons from 1980 to 1981 with Scottish Football League clubs Kilmarnock, Stranraer, Queen of the South, Clydebank, Ayr United and Ar ...
– professional footballer * William Clunas – Scotland and Sunderland footballer; played in the first England v Scotland match at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
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 – mathematician * 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 footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Leighton started his career with Aberdeen, where he won seven domestic trophies and the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup under the m ...
– professional footballer, attended St. Cuthbert's Secondary School *
Phyllis Logan Phyllis Logan (born 11 January 1956) is a Scottish actress, widely known for her roles as Lady Jane Felsham in ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes in ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for ...
– actress; attended Johnstone High School in the 1970s * Annie McGuire – 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 celebrity chef, restaurateur, television presenter, and writer. His restaurant group, List of restaurants owned or operated by Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has ...
– celebrity chef and TV host, born in Johnstone * Sir
George Reid Sir George Houston Reid (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was a Scottish-born Australian and British politician, diplomat, and barrister who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1904 t ...
– 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 T ...
– serial killer, born in Johnstone in 1946 * Tommy Turner – professional footballer *
Alba Fyre Kayleigh Kerr (Birth name, née Rae; born 11 August 1992) is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Alba Fyre and is a membe ...
- professional wrestler


See also

* Johnstone Burgh F.C.


References


External links


Johnstone Community Council
{{authority control Towns in Renfrewshire Greater Glasgow Burghs