Ralston, Renfrewshire
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ralston (''Baile Raghnaill'' in
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
) is a small, middle-class, suburban settlement in
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 ...
,
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 ...
, being part of the greater town of Paisley. The district straddles the A761 (formerly the A737), the main dual-carriageway between Renfrewshire and the City of Glasgow.


History


Estates of Ralston

The modern settlement of Ralston takes its name from the ancient
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
estates of ''Ralphistoun'' (Ralph's town), named after the younger son of the
Earl of Fife The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the re ...
, to whom the lands were given in the early 12th century. The feudal estates included the lands of Auldtoun (now Oldhall), Hullhead, Barshaw, Whitehaugh, Byres, Honeybog, Pennilee, Maylee and Ralstonwood. When the use of
surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
s was adopted in the
Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...
, the descendants of the Earl's younger son named themselves 'Ralston' after the estates. The lands remained in the Ralston family until 1704 when they were sold by Gavin Ralston to John,
Earl of Dundonald Earl of Dundonald is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1669 for the Scottish soldier and politician William Cochrane, 1st Lord Cochrane of Dundonald, along with the subsidiary title of Lord Cochrane of Paisley and Ochiltr ...
, who conferred them on his daughter, Lady Anne Cochrane, when she married
James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton and 2nd Duke of Brandon (5 January 1703 – 2 March 1743), was a Scottish peer, the son of the 4th Duke of Hamilton. Hamilton attended Winchester College from 1716 to 1717. He matriculated at Christ Church ...
. Their son sold Ralston in 1755 to William MacDowal of
Castle Semple Castle Semple (previously Castletoun) is a former mansion house located in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is situated near the eastern end of Castle Semple Loch, within Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. History Erected, or more probably rebuilt, by ...
, an eminent Glasgow merchant and one of the founders of the Ship Bank there. His son, William of Garthland and Castle Semple, sold Ralston in 1800 to William Orr, son of a Paisley manufacturer who, with his brother, had made his fortune in the manufacture of
linens Linens, also referred to uncountably as linen, are fabric household goods intended for daily use, such as bedding, tablecloths, and towels. "Linens" may also refer to church linens, meaning the altar cloths used in church. History The earlies ...
in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Three years earlier, he had acquired from the Earl of Glasgow, part of the lands of Ingliston, on which he built an elegant manor house. Upon purchase of the estates, he merged all of them into one, which he called Ralston, and his manor house became the Mansion of Ralston. In 1840, James Richardson, a Glasgow merchant, secured the lands. His son, Thomas Richardson, enlarged the mansion and increased the size of the estate. The Ralston estates were eventually carved up and sold as farmland in the late 19th century. The ruins of Ralston Mansion were demolished in the 1930s, however part of the original stonework forms an annex to the club house at Ralston
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
Club. The East and West Lodges on the Glasgow Road were the original gate houses to the estates.


Planned village

In the early 19th century, the development of the textile industry in Renfrewshire resulted in the increase in road traffic across the county. The main road running through the Ralston estates was nothing more than a narrow dirt track. The original road ran from Paisley, through the then-village of Williamsburgh and across the tops of the Byres, Barshaw and Honeybog hills. When a programme of long distance road construction was introduced, a new road was built, snaking through the low-lying ground at the foot of the hills. The original track later fell into disuse and the new route became what is now the Glasgow Road. Villas began to appear along Glasgow Road in the late 19th century, mostly in what is now the Oldhall district near Barshaw Park. A village-proper was established in the valley between the hills of Bathgo and Honeybog in the early 1930s as post-war residential development increased. Developers planned Ralston as a leafy haven for wealthy Paisley textile merchants, wishing to raise their families in a more rural setting beyond the burgh's boundaries. Most of the area's original farmhouses were demolished to make way for the fledgling village. These included: * Oldhall (at the far end Oldhall Road, which was actually originally the path leading up to the farmhouse) * Rylees (which sat at the bend of Atholl Crescent - its path coincides roughly with School Road, leading down to Penilee Road, which like Glasgow Road, was a well-established track) * South Hillington (the most recent victim of Ralston's expansion, which lay in ruin until 1973 when it was finally consigned to the history books to make way for
Ossian Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora (poem), Temora'' (1763), and later c ...
Avenue) * South Ingliston (which lay in what is now Ralston Golf Course, just beyond the bend of Bathgo Avenue) * The Furnace (originally number 18 Penilee Road)


Geography

Ralston is situated primarily on a series of south-facing hillsides, overlooking the
Gleniffer Braes Gleniffer Braes ("brae" being the Scots language word for the slope or brow of a hill) is a short range of hills and park area to the south of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Scotland which form the boundary of Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire. Are ...
and the Bullwood plantation. The district merges congruously with the sandstone villas of Paisley to its west. Here, Barshaw Park provides a convenient boundary between the district and its larger neighbour. To the east, Ralston's painted stone cottages and their proudly-maintained front gardens define the Glasgow Road all the way to the Renfrewshire border and beyond, merging unobtrusively with the cottages of neighbouring Crookston. Ralston's northern edge is defined by South Arkleston farm at the foot of Penilee Bridge; its southern extent is limited by Ralston Golf Course and the leeward side of Bathgo Hill. To the north, the district's official (ward) boundary extends beyond Penilee Bridge, to the main Paisley - Glasgow railway (
Inverclyde Line The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley (Gilmour Street) and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it conn ...
), which forms the boundary between North and South Arkleston farms. To the south, Ralston's 'jurisdiction' takes in the whole of Ralston Golf Course and extends beyond the Paisley Canal railway line to the
White 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, Renfrewshire, Erskine and Renfrew and opposite the town of Clydebank. The River Cart itself is very short, bein ...
at Ross Hall Mains farm. Ralston's northern boundary falls close to the out-of-town retail development at
Braehead Braehead (, Gaelic: ''Ceann a' Bhruthaich'') is a commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrew, Renfrewshire. It is particularly notable for its large ...
on the
River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...
near
Renfrew Renfrew (; ; ) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former royal house, Renfrew gaine ...
. To the west, Ralston's boundary with Paisley is less well-defined. Despite Paisley's pre-1974 burgh boundary intersecting the Glasgow Road at the corner of Oldhall Road, today, the district is considered by many, including the local
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. ...
, to include the part of Paisley between Hawkhead Road and the historic Paisley-Ralston boundary. This is primarily attributable to the fact that, in spite of the formal administrative boundaries, both current and traditional, children living east of Hawkhead Road have always fallen within the catchment area of Ralston Primary School.


Administration

Despite its close proximity to Paisley, Ralston has always remained independent of its larger neighbour, and until 1974, formed the most part of ''Hurlet and Oldhall'' in the 2nd Landward District of the
County of Renfrew Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The lieutenancy area covers the three modern council areas of Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfr ...
. In a local
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
, held in 1995 ahead of the planned abolition of the
Strathclyde Region Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath
alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...
of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...
and the partition of Renfrewshire into three separate
local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...
, the residents of Ralston voted overwhelmingly against leaving the new Paisley-based (and Labour-dominated) Renfrewshire authority to become an annex of the newly partitioned (and Conservative-run)
East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...
. Despite East Renfrewshire's assurance that a local government office would be set up within Ralston, locals were concerned that the district would be no more than a remote outpost, linked to the rest of the authority by a narrow strip of countryside with no direct road or public transport links connecting the two. By far the most persuasive reason against annexation, however, was that Ralston School was (and is) one of the five feeder primaries, serving Paisley's Grammar School. Parents were concerned that if the district were to leave the jurisdiction of Renfrewshire's education authority, local children would be prevented from attending Ralston's closest secondary school. Ralston is now administered as a local government
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 ...
of the Renfrewshire authority (named Paisley Northeast and Ralston). In terms of local democracy, the district is represented by the Ralston
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. ...
, which lobbies the Renfrewshire authority on matters of local significance. Nationally, the area falls within the Paisley constituency of 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'. ...
and is represented 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 ...
as part of
Paisley and Renfrewshire North Paisley and Renfrewshire North is a constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom represented since 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 by Elaine Stewart (politician) ...
. Today, mainly as a result of postal addressing and local government reorganisation, many newcomers to Ralston are unaware that they do not technically live in Paisley. Nowadays, the only obvious, albeit subtle, reminder of Ralston's separate identity is the fact that on crossing into Renfrewshire on the A761 Glasgow Road, drivers pass a "Welcome to Renfrewshire" sign a whole kilometre before they pass a sign welcoming them to Paisley. Ralston's current status, however, is that of a
middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
Paisley
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
.


Transport

The main road through Ralston is the A761, which begins in
Port Glasgow Port Glasgow (, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 s ...
at the junction with the A8, and runs through
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, ...
and Paisley before reaching Ralston. It then continues across the Renfrewshire-Glasgow border through Crookston,
Cardonald Cardonald (; ,
) is an outlying suburb of the Scotlan ...
and Ibrox to Paisley Road Toll, where it meets the A8 once again. The road is regularly subject to police speed checks, due to the problem of drivers speeding through Ralston's 30 mph limit. Typically around 1,400 vehicles travel in both directions through the area per hour. As a middle-class suburb, car ownership is among the highest in Renfrewshire, with many 2-car households. Ralston is also above the Strathclyde regional average in car ownership, which is the lowest in Scotland. Ralston is bounded by both the Paisley Canal and Ayrshire & Inverclyde railway lines on its southern and northern sides, respectively. Whilst Hillington, Crookston and Hawkhead stations are close for some residents, the majority of the district's population live too far away to receive a convenient train service. The Paisley Canal line partially re-opened in 1990, following its closure in 1983, one of the last railway lines to ever fall victim of the
Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...
. Hawkhead station opened later than the rest of the line in 1991. Primarily on account of its location on the main route between Paisley and Glasgow, Ralston is well-served by local bus services, with some services running 24 hours a day at weekends. It is estimated that the frequency of buses on the main A761 road is every 2–3 minutes during the day, which makes traffic through Ralston very busy indeed.
First Glasgow First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. The company operates within the area covered by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body responsible for h ...
,
First Stop Travel First Stop Travel was a Scottish bus company, which operated primarily in Renfrewshire and southwest Glasgow. Its depot was located in Muriel Street, Barrhead. It was closed in 2008 after the Traffic Commissioner revoked its licence. History Ini ...
and
McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland. The company has grown to operate a network of routes covering much of the council areas of Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City (counci ...
operate bus routes through the area, connecting Ralston with neighbouring towns and facilities, including Paisley,
Johnstone Johnstone (,
) is a town in the
Glasgow 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 passe ...
and Glasgow.


Trivia

* Scottish actors
David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...
,
Tom Conti Tommaso Antonio Conti (born 22 November 1941) is a Scottish actor. Conti has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award and a Laurence Olivier Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and two Golden Globe Awards ...
and
Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never ...
hail from Ralston, as does interior designer John Amabile, poet Graham Fulton,Comedian Richie McMahon and New York City private arts club owner, Alan Linn. * Today, Penilee Road runs northward past the Arkleston farms and turns sharply to the right to avoid the M8 motorway as it enters Hillington Estate. At this bend, the road used to veer slightly to the left and continued through to Renfrew, where it became what is now Newmains Road. * Historically, Ralston's boundaries were defined by the East and West Gates, the former entrances to what was the Ralston Estate, which still contains period houses at these locations. Bus fares, however, have remained true to history and buses only enter the Ralston 'fare stage' at Bathgo Avenue - at the site of the period house at Ralston East Gate. The Ralston stage runs from here to the corresponding West Gate at Strathmore Avenue. This leaves the section from the Renfrewshire boundary at Killearn Drive to Bathgo Avenue erroneously in the Crookston stage. Similarly, a mismatch between the Strathclyde
ZoneCard ZoneCard is a travel card issued by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport in Scotland. Usage The scheme divides the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport(SPT) area into 7 regions distinguished by a num ...
and local authority boundaries has resulted in the portion of Ralston east of Penilee Road in the
Greater Glasgow Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area (or conurbation). It does not relate to municipal government ...
'G3' zone, with the rest of the district in the more appropriate Renfrewshire 'R1' zone. This anomaly does, however, result in residents in eastern Ralston, who commute to Glasgow for work, enjoying cheaper public transport costs, as they require one less zone than the rest of eastern Renfrewshire. * Until the 1950s, Buchlyvie Road only existed on the Auchmannoch side of the Southwold hill crest, turning sharply right into Southwold Road rather than continuing down-hill toward Ralston School. Similarly, Auchmannoch Avenue ran from its
cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...
near Dalfoil Court to Buchlyvie Road where it formed a T-junction - the stretch between Buchlyvie Road and Penilee Road was a later addition, as characterised by the modern brick construction of the houses in contrast to the traditional sandstone that is common in Ralston. * Up until 1966, what is now the M8 motorway between Hillington and Arkleston was built adjacent to the
runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
of Renfrew International Airport, which closed in that year, following the opening of the new Glasgow (Abbotsinch) Airport slightly further west. Hillington Estate was actually the airport engineering works, hence it being (until recently) the location of the
Rolls-Royce Plc Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for ...
aero engine plant. *
St Mirren F.C. St Mirren Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire, that competes in the after winning the 2017–18 Scottish Championship. Founded in 1877, the team has two nicknames: ''The Buddies'' and ''The S ...
along with Renfrewshire Council turned the Ralston Community Centre fields into a football training facility and academy.


References

{{reflist Areas in Paisley, Renfrewshire