Kilbarchan (; ) is a village 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in central

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 ...

, 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. It is almost contiguous with

Johnstone Johnstone (,
) is a town in the

Paisley. The village's name means "cell (chapel) of St. Barchan". It is known for its former weaving industry.

History

Kilbarchan was the birthplace of

Mary Barbour Mary Barbour ( Rough; 20 February 1875 – 2 April 1958) was a Scotland, Scottish Activism, political activist, local councillor, bailie and magistrate. Barbour was closely associated with the Red Clydeside movement in the early 20th century ...

, who led

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 ...

rent strike A rent strike, sometimes known as a tenants strike or a renters strike, is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants agree to collectively withhold paying some or all of their rent to the ...

of 1915 and later became

Glasgow Corporation Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the local government authority for Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was formerly governed by a corporation, also kno ...

's first woman councillor. Kilbarchan was used as a location for the BBC TV show ''

Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...

'' in the 1960s.

Transport

Kilbarchan railway station opened on 1 June 1905, and closed to passengers on 27 June 1966.

Notable people

* Mary Nicol Neill Armour (1902–2000), artist *

, 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 Free ...

, architect, was born and raised here *

Maud Galt Maud Galt (c. 1620 c. 1670) was a lesbian accused of witchcraft in Kilbarchan, Scotland. Biography Maud Galt lived in Kilbarchan, Scotland in the mid 17th century. She hid her sexual identity by marrying John Dickie, a wright. The couple liv ...

(c. 1620 – c. 1670), lesbian accused of witchcraft, lived here with her husband. * 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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

, professor of plastic surgery and bioengineering, born here * Agnes Lyle, a ballad singer, lived here in 1825. * Hugh McIver, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* John Stirling (1654–1727), Principal of

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

and

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

in 1707

References

External links

* * {{authority control Villages in Renfrewshire