Paisley

Nursing Homes near Paisley

Scotland

Approximate Population: 74,170

Ask any of Paisley’s proud Buddies and they will tell you the same thing: by all rights, Paisley should be a city. With a population of over 72,00, it is the sixth-largest Scottish settlement, and bigger than the cities of Inverness and Stirling.

Nevertheless, the Renfrewshire town does quite nicely in spite of its more humble status. Though occupied since Roman times, it wasn’t until the 12th Century that Paisley took shape from ecclesiastical beginnings, coalescing round its priory of 1163. The priory grew in status, eventually being promoted, becoming Paisley Abbey in 1245. Paisley Abbey has certainly played its part in Scottish history: a young son of the nearby village of Elderslie, answering to the name of William Wallace, was educated there; and King Robert III of Scotland was laid to rest in the Abbey in 1406. Paisley’s fortune was made with the weaving industry’s Paisley Shawl and the iconic, intricate Paisley Pattern. The Paisley Pattern adorned ties, shirts, and shawls, putting Paisley on the map, but like all successful inventions, there would be competition, and when cheaper imported products from India began to threaten the industry, the good people of Paisley found that their economy could not cope.

The weaving industry in Paisley went down with British manufacturing, sinking in the 1970s – it never resurfaced. Like all good towns, Paisley just got on with it. And it has plenty to be getting on with. Education is one of the town’s main exports; with Reid Kerr College joined by the University of the West of Scotland (formerly Paisley University and Bell College, Hamilton). Paisley, of course, has its own Scottish Premier League side in Saint Mirren, their victory in the 1987 Scottish Cup final against Dundee United was met with the sort of celebration that afforded publican’s early retirement.

Nursing Homes near Paisley Scotland