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101-637: The Paisley witches , also known as the Bargarran witches or the Renfrewshire witches , were tried in Paisley, Renfrewshire , central Scotland , in 1697. Eleven-year-old Christian Shaw , daughter of the Laird of Bargarran , complained of being tormented by some local witches; they included one of her family's servants, Katherine Campbell , whom she had reported to her mother after witnessing her steal

202-658: A Church of Scotland parish church. One of Scotland's major religious houses, Paisley Abbey was much favoured by the Bruce and Stewart royal families. King Robert III (1390–1406) was buried in the Abbey. His tomb has not survived, but that of Princess Marjorie Bruce (1296–1316), ancestor of the Stewarts, is one of Scotland 's few royal monuments to survive the Reformation . Paisley coalesced under James II's wish that

303-430: A 19th-century dispute between weavers and employers over payment for "sma' shot" – a small cotton thread which, although unseen, was necessary in holding together garments. A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Paisley Barracks in 1822. The economic crisis of 1841–43 hit Paisley hard as most of the mills shut down. Among the mill owners, 67 of 112 went bankrupt. A quarter of

404-522: A business centre. As the administrative centre of the county of Renfrewshire , Renfrew District and, currently, Renfrewshire council area , Paisley is home to many significant civic buildings. Paisley Town Hall , adjacent to the Abbey, was funded by the will of George Aitken Clark , one of the Clark family, owners of the Anchor Mills. In competition, Sir Peter Coats funded the construction of

505-481: A corpse and be senseless and motionless". Shaw's parents took her back to Dr Brisbane, and by the time they arrived back in Glasgow she had begun to pull out of her mouth balls of hair she claimed had been put there by those who were afflicting her. Soon she began to pull other "trash" out of her mouth, including straw, coal, gravel, chicken feathers, and cinders. During her fits she was sometimes heard to be talking to

606-626: A drink of milk. Seven people – Margaret Lang, John Lindsay, James Lindsay, John Lindsay of Barloch, Katherine Campbell, Margaret Fulton, and Agnes Naismith – were found guilty of having bewitched Shaw and were condemned to death. They were hanged then burned on the Gallow Green in Paisley on 10 June 1697, the last mass execution for witchcraft in western Europe. Agnes Naismith cursed everyone present at her trial and their descendants, and for many years afterwards every tragedy in Paisley

707-416: A feminist perspective, asserts that the witch-hunts resulted from a societal fear of maternal power. Willis argues that the people of early modern Europe all had similar fears about malevolent motherly nurturing, and that the witch's teat is a manifestation of that fear. Willis asserts that the witch's teat is a perversion of the female power to nourish and strengthen young. The witch's mark also factors into

808-534: A grocer whose wife started making marmalade from oranges in 1860. This product was successful and a factory was opened in Storie Street, Paisley, to produce it in 1866 and additional factories were later opened in Manchester, London and Bristol. The company was taken over by Rank Hovis McDougall who closed its Stevenson Street factory and transferred production to England in the 1970s. Brown and Polson

909-420: A hot iron to produce a blue or red brand. The Devil was thought to mark the individual at the end of nocturnal initiation rites . The witch's teat was a raised bump somewhere on a witch's body. It is often depicted as having a wart-like appearance. The term "witches' mark" is also used to describe marks carved into the walls of buildings to protect them and their occupants from evil due to demons, witches or

1010-566: A major religious centre of the Kingdom of Strathclyde . A priory was established in 1163 from the Cluniac priory at Wenlock in Shropshire, England at the behest of Walter fitz Alan, Steward of Scotland (died 1177). In 1245 this was raised to the status of an abbey. The restored Abbey and adjacent 'Place' (palace), constructed out of part of the medieval claustral buildings, survive as

1111-482: A memorial was built at Maxwellton Cross in Paisley, the site where the witches' charred remains were buried. It replaced the original horseshoe marking the spot, which had disappeared during the 1970s, as had its replacement later. The bronze tondo , with a stainless steel horseshoe embedded in it, includes the inscription "Pain Inflicted, Suffering Endured, Injustice Done". A campaign was launched in 2008 petitioning

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1212-615: A number of "decoy ponds" (mock airfields) used by the RAF after the Battle of Britain as part of a project code-named "Starfish Decoy" designed to confuse German spies. Paisley, as with other areas in Renfrewshire, was at one time famous for its weaving and textile industries. As a consequence, the Paisley pattern has long symbolic associations with the town. Until the Jacquard loom

1313-474: A number of people, including Christian Shaw. Their advocate, James Roberston, argued that the prosecution was obliged to rule out the possibility that the events surrounding the case could be explained by natural causes before a conviction could be safely secured. Matthew Brisbane gave evidence stating that he had been unable to find any such cause for Shaw's condition. James Hutchison, the minister of Kilallan , about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Paisley, delivered

1414-454: A precedent was established that manufacturers (and other "neighbours" or fellow citizens) owe a duty not to do foreseeable harm to others by negligence, regardless of contractual obligations, which paved the way for modern tort law. The case is often called the "Paisley snail". Owing to its industrial roots, Paisley, like many industrial towns in Renfrewshire , became a target for German Luftwaffe bombers during World War II . Although it

1515-620: A precise location of manufacture. Therefore, in 1973, John Irwin published an update of his book, named as The Kashmir Shawl, in which he removed all the images of the shawls related to a European manufacturing. Monique Lévi-Strauss clearly states that her research led her to focus on the shawls creative industries in France in the 19th century, for the reason that the shawl industries in the United Kingdom (Paisley), Austria (Vienna), Germany (Elberfeld) were inspired by France (Paris) and never

1616-640: A sermon to the commission; it was commonplace at the time for a member of the clergy to preach to the court in Scottish witch trials, and they were not infrequently instrumental in securing convictions. Hutchison placed great store on the presence of witches' marks on the bodies of the accused, and cast doubt on the natural explanations of those marks offered by some physicians: "And however doctors may say such and such things of it [a witches' mark], we know not upon what ground. It may be that they have been budded and bribed to say such things". The jury, confronted by

1717-531: A significant collection of the original shawls in this design, and it has been used, for example, in the modern logo of Renfrewshire Council , the local authority. According to Monique Lévi-Strauss, information on the history of Kashmir shawls' weaving techniques had been described in books, but in a very unintelligible language. John Irwin published a book named Shawls, a Study in Indo-European Influences, in 1955, in which he relates

1818-402: A threat from the prosecutor that if they acquitted the defendants they would be "accessory to all the blasphemies, apostacies, murders, tortures, and seductions, etc., whereof those enemies of heaven and earth shall hereafter be guilty when they get out", found all seven of the accused guilty. One of those convicted, John Reid was found dead in his cell a few weeks (Saturday, 22 May, 1697) before

1919-415: A weekly fast and prayer meeting at Bargarron House, and Shaw's father appealed to the authorities that those named by his daughter as tormenting her should be arrested. She had initially identified only Catherine Campbell and Agnes Naismith, but as time wore on she implicated others, and eventually 35 were accused. Ten were male and twenty female; the sexes and identities of the remaining five are unknown. At

2020-506: A witch ". Customarily, this routine was performed in front of a large crowd. Medieval inquisitors also believed that the Devil left invisible marks upon his followers. If after stripping and shaving, the accused witch was found to have no likely blemishes, pins were simply driven into her body until an insensitive area was found. The search for witch's marks had disappeared by 1700. The violence used against accused witches in order to discover

2121-407: A witch's mark could be easily identified from a natural mark; in light of this belief, protests from the victims that the marks were natural were often ignored. Authorities in the witch trials routinely stripped an accused witch of clothing and shaved all body hair so that no potential mark could be hidden. Pins were driven into scars, calluses and thickened areas of skin: the practice of " pricking

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2222-521: A witch. The following day, 22 August, Shaw became violently ill with fits, similar to the symptoms reported a few years earlier in the American Salem witch trials of 1693. After eight weeks Shaw's parents took her to see the eminent Glasgow physician Matthew Brisbane, who could find no cause for her symptoms. For eight days after her visit Shaw seemed to have recovered, but then "the fits returned with increased violence. She would become as stiff as

2323-425: A woman's position during this time: "when 'a personable and good-like woman' was defended by one of the local gentry the pricker argued that, having been accused, she must be tried anyway". Barstow views the violent and sexual nature of the witch's mark examinations in the witch trials to be further evidence that the witch-hunts were, in fact, "women-hunts". English Literature professor Deborah Willis, who writes from

2424-595: Is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland . Located north of the Gleniffer Braes , the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Water , a tributary of the River Clyde . Paisley serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area , and is the largest town in the historic county of the same name . It

2525-462: Is also the site of Dykebar Hospital , a secure psychiatric hospital. Local parks include Fountain Gardens and Barshaw Park . On the outskirts of the town are a number of settlements such as Ralston , a residential area in the far east bordering the city of Glasgow . Ralston was outside the Paisley burgh boundary when constructed in the 1930s, but as a result of local authority reorganisation in

2626-611: Is divided into five community policing areas: Paisley North-west (incorporating Glasgow Airport); Paisley South-west; Paisley East and Ralston; Paisley South; Gallowhill (as part of Renfrew and Gallowhill). Gallowhill is covered by the Renfrew Area Command. For judicial purposes, the area forms part of the sheriffdom of North Strathclyde and public prosecutions are directed by the Procurator Fiscal for Argyll and Clyde . NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

2727-473: Is listed by the conservation organisation DoCoMoMo as one of the sixty key Scottish monuments of the post-war period. Other civic buildings of interest include the Russell Institute , an art deco building constructed in 1926. Most noticeable among the buildings of Paisley is its medieval Abbey in the centre of the town dating from the 12th century. The earliest surviving architecture

2828-422: Is located within the airport complex. Scotch whisky blenders and bottlers Chivas Brothers , now a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard , are also located in the town. The site of the former Rootes/Chrysler/Talbot on the western outskirts of the town is now home to Phoenix Retail Park. Numerous private developers have invested, creating various retail outlets, vehicle showrooms, restaurants, a cinema complex, hotel and

2929-515: Is often cited as "Scotland's largest town" and is the fifth largest settlement in the country , although it does not have city status. The town became prominent in the 12th century, with the establishment of Paisley Abbey , an important religious hub which formerly had control over other local churches. Paisley expanded significantly during the Industrial Revolution as a result of its location beside White Cart Water, with access to

3030-528: Is still used today as the congregating point for the annual Sma' Shot parade which takes place on the first Saturday in July. Witches%27 mark The Witch or Devil's mark was believed to be the permanent marking of the Devil on his initiates to seal their obedience and service to him. He is said to create the mark by raking his claw across their flesh, licking the skin to produce a death skull pattern, or using

3131-652: Is the National Health Service Board serving Paisley and the town's main hospital with accident and emergency facilities is the Royal Alexandra Hospital . Strathclyde Fire and Rescue is the statutory fire and rescue service covering Paisley, with one community fire station on the town's Canal Street. Water and sewerage is provided in Paisley by Scottish Water , a public body, and water and sewerage charges are collected alongside council tax by Renfrewshire Council ,

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3232-575: Is the Category A listed Anchor Mills, built in 1886. The building was converted in 2005 into residential flats. Textiles have a longer history in Paisley, represented by the Sma' Shot cottages complex on Shuttle Street: a small public museum of weaving from its 18th-century origins as a cottage industry . Another landmark connected with the textile industry is the Dooslan Stane or Stone. The stone

3333-430: Is the south-east doorway in the nave from the cloister, which has a round arched doorway typical of Romanesque architecture which was the prevalent architectural style before the adoption of Gothic. The choir (east end) and tower date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and are examples of Gothic Revival architecture . They were reconstructed in three main phases of restorations with the tower and choir conforming to

3434-467: The Gallow Green in Paisley on 10 June 1697 the last mass execution for witchcraft in western Europe. John and James Lindsay, brothers, held each other's hands as they were hanged together. Katherine Campbell, after having been carried struggling and screaming to the gallows, "called down the wrath of God and the Devil on her accusers" before being despatched. Margaret Fulton appeared to have become insane, and "spoke cheerfully about visits to Elfland and

3535-474: The Paisley seat . For the House of Commons of the United Kingdom the town is divided between two constituencies covering the whole of Renfrewshire: Paisley and Renfrewshire North ( Alison Taylor MP ) and Paisley and Renfrewshire South ( Johanna Baxter MP ). Paisley lies within the Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Division of the Scottish police service and is one of three Area Commands in that division. Paisley

3636-531: The Paisley shawl and the Paisley pattern . However, industrial decline followed in the 20th century. By 1993, all of Paisley's mills had closed, although they are memorialised in the town's museums and civic history. The town now functions as a regional centre for local governance and services as well as a residential commuting area within the Greater Glasgow urban region. Formerly and variously known as Paislay , Passelet , Passeleth , and Passelay

3737-566: The textile mills of Paisley. The mills in 1861 had a stock of cotton in reserve, but by 1862 there were large-scale shortages and shutdowns. There were no alternative jobs for the workers, and local authorities refused to provide relief. Voluntary relief efforts were inadequate, and the unemployed workers refused to go to workhouses. Workers blamed not the United States, but rather the officials in London for their hardship and did not support

3838-529: The "Presbyterian polity of the kirk", nevertheless left many "disappointed at the low moral tone and lack of religious enthusiasm of their compatriots". The Glencoe Massacre of 1692 and the subsequent inquiry had "eroded the moral legitimacy of the government", and a series of harvest failures from 1695 onwards led to a period of famine. There was also the threat of a French invasion: "as the Bargarran witches were being tried, taxes and troops were being levied in

3939-618: The 12th century, it is uncertain whether the name of Paisley is of Cumbric or Gaelic origin, due to the linguistic shift that occurred around this time. The Roman name for Paisley was Vanduara. Paisley has monastic origins. A chapel is said to have been established by the 6th / 7th-century Irish monk, Saint Mirin , at a site near a waterfall on the White Cart Water known as the Hammils. Though Paisley lacks contemporary documentation it may have been, along with Glasgow and Govan ,

4040-466: The 1930s, there were 28,000 people employed in the huge Anchor and Ferguslie mills of J & P Coats Ltd , said to be the largest of their kind in the world at that time. In the 1950s, the mills diversified into the production of synthetic threads but production diminished rapidly as a result of less expensive imports from overseas and the establishment of mills in India and Brazil by J & P Coats. By

4141-574: The 1990s, it is now a suburb of Paisley. Public sector organisations in Paisley include the headquarters of Renfrewshire Council , the largest campus of the University of the West of Scotland , the Paisley campus of West College Scotland and the Royal Alexandra Hospital . Glasgow Airport , located on the northern edge of Paisley, is also a significant employer and part of the area's transport infrastructure. The airline Loganair 's registered office

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4242-509: The Abode of the Fairies on the backs of magical horses". Margaret Lang admitted to consorting with the Devil, but said that she had renounced sin and was reconciled with God. Agnes Naismith laid a "dying woman's curse" on everyone present and their descendants; for many years afterwards every tragedy in the town was blamed on "the witches' curse". One account of the executions states that some of

4343-529: The Clyde and nearby ore, mineral and agricultural resources. Factories and mills developed leading to an increase in the town's population. The town's associations with political radicalism were highlighted by its involvement in the Radical War of 1820, with striking weavers being instrumental in the protests. By the late 19th century, Paisley was a global centre of the weaving industry, giving its name to

4444-541: The Gallow Green. Their remains were buried at Maxwelton Cross in the west end of the town. This was the last mass execution for witchcraft in western Europe. A horse shoe was placed on top of the site to lock in the evil. A horse shoe is still visible in the middle of this busy road junction today—though not the original. The modern shoe is made of bronze and bears the inscription, "Pain Inflicted, Suffering Endured, Injustice Done". The Industrial Revolution , based on

4545-644: The Kashmir shawl's history and how these shawls spread on the European market during the 19th century. The book showed images of shawls woven in India and also fifteen images of shawls woven in United Kingdom, amongst which is one assigned to a Paisley manufacture, circa 1850. But according to Monique Lévi-Strauss, it resembles by many details a shawl designed by a French designer named Antony Berrus, born in 1815 at Nîmes-France and died in 1883. The designer studied at

4646-747: The Middle Ages. After the publication of her work, the historical community became divided between Murrayist and non-Murrayist scholars: "When the Witchcult in Western Europe appeared in 1921, it broke this deadlock; yes, said Murray, witches had indeed been up to something of which society disapproved, but it was in no way supernatural; they were merely members of an underground movement secretly keeping pagan rituals alive in Christian Europe." Murray's work became widely accepted and she

4747-659: The New World in 1492 and may be the result of the transfer of a virulent form of borrelia infection from America into Europe, especially in areas under the control of the Spanish Empire , including parts of the Rhine River Valley that are now in Germany. This topic is the subject of a recent work in the study of witchcraft. This theory is an expansion of the idea first proposed by Laurie Winn Carlson that

4848-489: The Scottish Parliament to pardon all the 4000 men, women and children prosecuted under the 16th and 17th-century witchcraft laws, but legislators argued that it was inappropriate to pardon those tried and convicted under the laws of their time. Paisley, Renfrewshire Paisley ( / ˈ p eɪ z l i / PAYZ -lee ; Scots : Paisley ; Scottish Gaelic : Pàislig [ˈpʰaːʃlɪkʲ] )

4949-488: The being of witches never try them now because of the experience they have had that it's impossible to distinguish possession from nature in disorder". Shaw married the Reverend John Millar, the parish minister of Kilmaurs , Ayrshire, in 1719. He died two years later, after which Shaw went on to become a successful businesswoman. She was involved in the manufacture of thread , at first in a small way, but as

5050-670: The burgh's name is of uncertain origin; some sources suggest a derivation either from the Brittonic word pasgill , "pasture", or from the Cumbric basaleg , "basilica", (i.e. major church), derived from the Greek βασιλική basilika . Some Scottish placename books suggest "Pæssa's wood/clearing", from the Old English personal name Pæssa , "clearing", and leāh , "wood". Pasilege (1182) and Paslie (1214) are recorded previous spellings of

5151-469: The condemned were still alive when their bodies were burned, and that the executioners borrowed a walking stick from an onlooker with which to push their victims' moving limbs back into the fire; its owner, Mark Canavan, refused to take it back after it had been in contact with witches. The anxiety induced in Christian Shaw by Katherine Campbell's curse may have brought on a conversion disorder in

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5252-513: The designs of Dr Peter MacGregor Chalmers. The roof in the nave is the most recent of restorations with the plaster ceiling by Rev Dr Boog which was added in the 1790s being replaced by a timber roof in 1981. Former Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church , named for the industrialist Thomas Coats (1809–1883), is an example of Gothic Revival architecture . It dominates the town's skyline with its crown spire more than 60 m (197 ft) high. Opened in 1894 and designed by Hippolyte Jean Blanc it

5353-406: The devilish half-breed has been conceived, the cambion may only feed upon this teat and no other. Folklore suggests that on the 7th day of the 7th week of consecutive feeding upon the teat, the cambion would grow to adulthood immediately and begin wreaking havoc with a range of demonic powers inherited from its supernatural father. However, should the ritual be disrupted during the 49-day period,

5454-732: The drawing School of Nîmes, before settling in Paris and opening in the French capital his own successful design studio, which employed 200 designers. His textile drawings were sold to Lyon in France, in Scotland, in England, in Austria and also in Kashmir. The fact that shawl patterns drawings were made in Europe, sold there and also to India, made the research work extremely difficult, in order to give

5555-480: The end of the 1993, there was no thread being produced in Paisley. The town also supported a number of engineering works some of which relied on the textile industry, others on shipbuilding . Paisley once had five shipyards including John Fullerton and Company (1866–1928), Bow, McLachlan and Company (1872–1932) and Fleming and Ferguson (1877–1969). A number of food manufacture companies existed in Paisley. The preserve manufacturer Robertsons began in Paisley as

5656-513: The evil eye. The witch's teat is associated with the perceived perversion of maternal power by witches in early modern England . The witch's teat is associated with the feeding of witches' imps or familiars ; the witch's familiar supposedly aided the witch in her magic in exchange for nourishment (blood) from sacrificial animals or from the witch's teat. It is also where the devil supposedly suckles when he comes at night to bed his faithful servants, sometimes impregnating them with his seed. Once

5757-412: The execution was to take place. He had a neckcloth tied around his neck and attached to the fireplace by a stick, however he was in a seated position on a stool, and those who found him stated the mechanism by which he had died was not sturdy enough to support his weight. With his cell locked, and window boarded, it was unclear how his death was accomplished The remaining seven were hanged and then burned on

5858-406: The failed Radical War between 1816 and 1820. Through its weaving fraternity, Paisley gained notoriety as being a literate and somewhat radical town. Political intrigue, early trades unionism and reforming zeal came together to produce mass demonstrations, cavalry charges down the high street, public riots and trials for treason. Documentation from the period indicates that overthrow of the government

5959-628: The historical study of the witch's mark goes, historians are split into different camps. The first camp, sometimes called "Murray-ists", supports British anthropologist Margaret Murray 's theory of the witch's mark. Historical discussion of the witch's mark began after the publication of Murray's books on the subject: Witchcult in Western Europe and The God of the Witches in the early 20th century. Her writings argue strongly that Devil's marks were in actuality tattoos that identified members of an organized pagan religion that she believed flourished in

6060-628: The idea of war with the United States. Many of the cotton mills either closed or were converted to thread manufacture which became the main focus of the textile industry in Paisley until the 20th century. Paisley suffered heavy losses in the First World War . Paisley War Memorial was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer (other sources say Harold Tarbolton ) in 1922 and depicts Robert the Bruce going into battle on horseback escorted by footsoldiers dressed as First World War infantry soldiers. It

6161-459: The imitation Kashmir (cashmere) shawls called "Paisley". Under the leadership of Thomas Coats (1809–1893), Paisley became the world centre for thread making. Mills and textile factories grew from the late 18th century, coming to dominate the town in the late Victorian era . These include the Anchor and Seedhill mills, as well as the adjacent Atlantic, Pacific and Mile End mills. Another example

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6262-485: The importance of weavers. Politically the mill owners remained in control of the town. However, other industrial development continued in and around Paisley outside of textiles, including the development of ironstone and oil shale extraction at Inkerman . The town also had numerous other industries, examples include numerous engineering works, as well as a distillery, ironwork, dye works and tanneries. The American Civil War of 1861–1865 cut off cotton supplies to

6363-483: The invisible Catherine Campbell, pleading for a return to their former friendship. With Brisbane unable to provide any rational explanation for Shaw's condition her family and their local parish minister concluded that she must be possessed and being tormented by witches, which was believed to be a common occurrence in England and Scotland and a central element in the Salem witch trials a few years earlier. The church set up

6464-512: The lands should become a single regality and, as a result, markets, trading and commerce began to flourish. In 1488 the town's status was raised by James IV to Burgh of barony . Many trades sprang up and the first school was established in 1577 by the Town Council. The Paisley witches , also known as the Bargarran witches or the Renfrewshire witches, were tried in Paisley in 1697. Seven were convicted and five were hanged and then burnt on

6565-500: The local authority, on its behalf. Renfrewshire Council is also responsible for the provision of waste management in the area. Paisley's distribution network operator , the organisation licensed to transmit electricity from the National Grid to consumers, is Scottish Power . Paisley sits primarily on an expanse of low ground around 12 metres (40 ft) above sea level surrounding the White Cart Water , which runs through

6666-851: The loss of almost 5,000 jobs. At one time M&Co. (Mackays) had its head office in Caledonia House in Paisley. Paisley had several cinemas in the town, all of which have since closed, including the Palladium (closed 1960s), the Regal, the La Scala Picture House (the B listed art deco 1912 facade of the cinema is now the entrance to the Paisley Centre) and the Kelburne. In 2015, the town launched its bid to become UK City of Culture in 2021. On 15 July 2017 Paisley

6767-503: The modern Paisley Museum and Central Library (1871), also in a neo-Classical style. The Clarks and Coats families dominated Paisley industry until their companies merged in 1896. Renfrewshire's former County Buildings, Police Station and Jail on County Square were demolished in 1821, and the County Council then met in a newer neo-classical building, completed in 1890, which now houses Paisley Sheriff Court . Renfrewshire House,

6868-553: The modern headquarters of Renfrewshire Council, was constructed as Paisley Civic Centre. Designed by Hutchison, Locke and Monk following a competition, the building was designed to house offices of both the county and town councils. It was intended to become a civic hub for Paisley but the absence of any shops and non-council premises prevented this from happening. It became the home of the Renfrew sub-region of Strathclyde Regional Council in 1975 and of Renfrewshire Council in 1996. It

6969-592: The name. The Gaelic translation is Pàislig . It is worth noting that some sources favour the name of the town as having its roots in the Gaelic word Baisleac , which is, like the Cumbric basaleg , derived from basilika . As Paisley was part of the Cumbric speaking Kingdom of Strathclyde , before being absorbed into the Gaelic speaking Kingdom of Alba in the 11th century, and with Cumbric being considered extinct by

7070-400: The opposite. The author then invited textile specialists from these countries to conduct research on their own field. Monique Lévi-Strauss notes the large influence that Kashmir had on the French shawl creative industries, narrowly linking the French history of Kashmir shawls to the Indian ones. The high-status skilled weavers mobilised themselves in radical protests after 1790, culminating in

7171-450: The population was on poor relief. The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel decided to act. He secured additional funds for relief and sent his own representative to the town to supervise its distribution. He convinced Queen Victoria to wear Paisley products in order to popularise the products and stimulate demand. Overproduction, the collapse of the shawl market and a general depression in the textile industry led to technical changes that reduced

7272-420: The post-war period. These include portions of Glenburn (south), Foxbar (south west), Ferguslie Park (north west), Gallowhill (North East) and Hunterhill (South East). Gockston in the far north of the town has many terraced houses, and after regeneration has many detached and semi-detached houses as well as several blocks of flats. Dykebar , to the south east of the town centre, is a residential area which

7373-476: The process has to restart all over again. All witches and sorcerers were believed to have a witch's mark waiting to be found. A person accused of witchcraft was brought to trial and carefully scrutinized. The entire body was suspect as a canvas for a mark, an indicator of a pact with Satan . Witch's marks were commonly believed to include moles , skin tags , supernumerary nipples , and insensitive patches of skin. Experts, or inquisitors , firmly believed that

7474-489: The quality of her product began to be recognised, on an increasingly large scale. Her Bargarran trademark thread became a mark of quality, and others in the area began to emulate her techniques, starting an industry in which Paisley once dominated the world, and which shaped the town's history. The last known record of Shaw is her marriage in February 1737 to William Livingstone, a prosperous Edinburgh businessman. In May 2008

7575-794: The request of the Presbytery of Paisley the Scottish Privy Council set up a commission to investigate the case. Under the chairmanship of Lord Blantyre , the hearing opened on 5 February 1697. The commission's task was to decide whether there was a prima facie case against those accused by Shaw before they were committed for trial. Seven were subsequently summoned to appear before a second commission in Paisley: Margaret Lang, John Lindsay, James Lindsay, John Reid, Catherine Campbell, Margaret Fulton, and Agnes Naismith. They were charged with murder and tormenting

7676-552: The shawls, which bore the Paisley Pattern made fashionable after being worn by a young Queen Victoria . Despite being of a Kashmiri design and manufactured in other parts of Europe, the teardrop-like pattern soon became known by Paisley's name across the western world. Although the shawls dropped out of fashion in the 1870s, the Paisley pattern remains an important symbol of the town: the Paisley Museum maintains

7777-504: The surrounding areas to carry out historic building repair and traditional shopfront reinstatement. Paisley is the administrative centre for the council area of Renfrewshire Council , and also lies within the registration county of the same name . The town is divided into Community Councils for representation at the most local level. Paisley in represented in the Scottish Parliament by George Adam MSP , who holds

7878-635: The textile industry, turned Paisley from a small market town to an important industrial town in the late 18th century. Initially beginning with small scale weaving (as took place at the Sma’ Shot cottages located in Shuttle Street), Paisley's location and workforce attracted English mill owners; migrants from Ayrshire and the Highlands poured into a town that offered jobs to women and children until silk fell out of fashion in 1790. The mills switched to

7979-441: The theory proposed by M. M. Drymon that Lyme disease is a diagnosis for both witches and witch affliction, finding that many of the afflicted and accused in Salem and elsewhere lived in areas that were tick-risky, had a variety of red marks and rashes that looked like bite marks on their skin, and suffered from neurological and arthritic symptoms. The appearance of the witch's mark in Europe is only noted after Columbian contact with

8080-562: The title "witch finders". Perhaps the most famous witchfinder was a man named Matthew Hopkins (c. 1620–1647), who claimed to be the "Witch Finder General". Hopkins's writings reached the height of their popularity during the English Civil War (c. 1645), and contributed to the use of the witch's mark as evidence of guilt. The record shows that two Scottish women disguised themselves as men, known as "Mr. Dickson" and "Mr. Peterson", so they, too, could become witch-finders. As far as

8181-549: The town centre. There are some hills and ridges which have been absorbed as the town has expanded. The settlement is historically centred on Oakshaw, an area surrounding a hill to the north of the current High Street. Oakshaw is a conservation area , and on the high ground many of Paisley's significant buildings can be found, such as the High Kirk , the Coats Observatory and the former John Neilson Institution, which

8282-637: The town's key attractions. This includes a £22million refurbishment to the Town Hall which reopened in October 2023, a new £7million Central Library and Learning Hub on the High Street which opened November 2023, and a £45million transformation of Paisley Museum due to be completed in late 2024. Renfrewshire Council also maintains its Townscape Heritage Initiative and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme to provide grants to property owners in Paisley and

8383-517: The town, just off Neilston Road toward Barrhead . It contains a variety of architecture ranging from mock Tudor to Art Deco . Many of the houses were designed by W. D. McLennan, a contemporary of Charles Rennie MacIntosh . McLennan also designed several local churches such as St Matthew's Church. Particularly following the Housing Act 1946, modern Paisley grew into the surrounding countryside, and several large residential areas were created in

8484-441: The west to repel the expected invaders". In 1839 a small hole was discovered in the wall of Shaw's bedroom at Bargarran House, which by then had become a local attraction, through which an accomplice may have passed the items she supposedly removed from her mouth. Shortly after the trial in 1697 the former Scottish Secretary of State James Johnstone observed that "the parliaments of France and other judicatories who are persuaded of

8585-442: The witch's mark included torture; "To try to force a confession, priest applied hot fat repeatedly to Catherine Boyraionne's eyes and her armpits, the pit of her stomach, her thighs, her elbows, and 'dans sa nature' – in her vagina. She died in prison, no doubt from injuries." During the witch-trials in early modern Europe , individuals were employed to help aid in the discovery and conviction of witches. These individuals were given

8686-472: The witch-hunts. In Anne Barstow's book, Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts , the witch's mark is viewed from a feminist perspective. Barstow sees the witch hunts of Europe as an attempt to control women, and the witch's mark as an excuse to control women's bodies through violence and sadism. The searching of women's bodies for the witch's mark gives insight into the reality of

8787-415: The young girl, the modern name for what was once known as hysteria. The term "conversion" derives from Sigmund Freud 's idea that anxiety can be converted into physical symptoms such as the seizures displayed by Shaw. Michael Wasser has commented that witch trials tended to occur at times of crisis such as Scotland experienced during the late 1690s. The Glorious Revolution of 1688, although it had restored

8888-458: Was Underwood Mill, a cotton mill founded in the 1780s which was later rebuilt as a thread mill in the 1860s (it fell into disuse in the 1970s). Other thread mills include Oakshaw thread works (later used by Arrol-Johnston car manufacturers) and the Burnside thread works. By the mid-19th century weaving had become the town's principal industry. The Paisley weavers' most famous products were

8989-527: Was a meeting place of the Weavers Union in the south of Paisley; it was also used as a " soapbox " and was originally inscribed with its history (now largely faded). It was moved from its original site at the corner of Neilston Road and Rowan Street to its present location in Brodie Park. Also present, arranged around the Dooslan Stane, are the four original Paisley Tolbooth stones. The Dooslan Stane

9090-466: Was announced as one of five shortlisted candidates, On 7 December 2017 it lost to Coventry . Following the announcement, Renfrewshire Council and the Paisley 2021 Board stated that Paisley's "journey will continue" and that the bid process was "just the beginning" for regeneration processes in the town. Funding acquired during the City of Culture bid has led to multi-million pound regenerations for many of

9191-507: Was blamed on her curse. Christian Shaw went on to become a successful business owner and manufacturer of thread . On 17 August 1696, 11-year-old Christian Shaw , the daughter of a local landowner, John Shaw of Bargarran, saw one of her family's servants, Catherine Campbell, steal a drink of milk. Shaw reported the theft to her mother, whereupon Campbell cursed her, wishing that the Devil would "haul her soul through Hell". Four days later Shaw encountered Agnes Naismith, an old woman reputed to be

9292-533: Was built in 1905–07. Dating from circa 1160 Blackhall Manor is the oldest building in Paisley. It was given to the Burgh of Paisley by the Shaw-Stewart family in 1940, but was threatened with demolition in 1978. It was privately purchased in 1982 and fully restored as a private dwelling. As a result of its historic textile industry, Paisley has many examples of Victorian industrial architecture. Most notable

9393-412: Was considered an expert in witchcraft studies after its publication. Murray is also credited with the renewed interest in neo-pagan religions, and later, Wicca , which occurred after the publications of her books. However, today her controversial ideas have been largely rejected by scientists and academics due to the lack of any evidence. Another camp believes that the witch's mark is a gendered aspect of

9494-524: Was even contemplated by some. The weavers of Paisley were certainly active in the 'Radical War'. The perceived radical nature of the inhabitants prompted the Tory Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli to comment "Keep your eye on Paisley". The poet Robert Tannahill lived in this setting, working as a weaver. Paisley's annual Sma' Shot Day celebrations held on the first Saturday of July were initiated in 1856 to commemorate

9595-642: Was formed in Paisley in 1840 and two years later started producing starch for the weaving trades, by 1860 it was making food products including its patent cornflour . It later became CPC Foods Ltd, a subsidiary of Unilever , which produced Hellmann's mayonnaise , Gerber baby foods and Knorr soups. The company ceased production in Paisley in 2002. The Piazza shopping centre was opened by Sean Connery in 1970 and has since been modernised several times. In 1981 Peugeot Talbot , formerly Chrysler and before that Rootes , announced that its Linwood factory just outside Paisley would cease production. This led to

9696-419: Was introduced in the 1820s, weaving was a cottage industry . This innovation led to the industrialisation of the process and many larger mills were created in the town. Also as a consequence of greater mechanisation, many weavers lost their livelihoods and left for Canada and Australia. Paisley was for many years a centre for the manufacture of cotton sewing thread . At the heyday of Paisley thread manufacture in

9797-435: Was not bombed as heavily as nearby Glasgow (see Clydebank Blitz ), air raids still occurred periodically during the early years of the war, killing nearly a hundred people in several separate incidents; on 6 May 1941, a parachute mine was dropped in the early hours of the morning claiming 92 victims; this is billed the worst disaster in Paisley's history. The Gleniffer Braes , on the southern outskirts of Paisley, are home to

9898-460: Was once a school and is now converted into residential flats. Paisley expanded steadily, particularly in the Victorian and Edwardian eras , creating many suburbs. Castlehead is a wooded conservation area primarily made up of Victorian villas where many of the town's leading industrialists made their homes in the late 19th century. Thornly Park is another conservation area, to the south of

9999-421: Was sculpted by Alice Meredith Williams . Paisley was also the site of an incident that gave rise to a major legal precedent. In a Paisley cafe in 1928, a woman claimed to find a dead snail in a bottle of ginger beer, and became ill. She sued the manufacturer for negligence. At the time a manufacturer was considered liable only if there was a contract in place with the harmed party. After Donoghue v Stevenson ,

10100-519: Was the first Catholic church to be built in Scotland since the Reformation . With the erection of the Diocese of Paisley in 1947 the church was raised to cathedral status. St Matthew's Church ( Church of the Nazarene ) at the junction of Gordon Street and Johnston Street is Art Nouveau in style. Designed by local architect William Daniel McLennan, a contemporary of Charles Rennie Mackintosh , it

10201-590: Was the largest Baptist church in Europe. The exterior is made of old red sandstone. Inside, the church is decorated with wood carvings, mosaic floors and marble fonts. The church also contains a 3040 pipe Hill Organ. The St Mirin's Cathedral in Incle Street is the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Paisley . The church was completed in 1931 to replace an earlier building, in nearby East Buchanan Street, which dated from 1808. The original St Mirin's church

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