An ‘Intriguing Church’

THE parish of Neilston is in upland East Renfrewshire. It is traversed by the river Levern, which rises in Lochlibo, on the southern edge of the parish, and eventually flows into the White Cart Water. The valley of the Levern is the main route between Glasgow and Irvine, and also forms an easy route to Kilmarnock.

The parish was allocated in the 12th century, when the feudal system was introduced into lowland Scotland, to the Croc family. One of them, Robert Croc gave in the 1160s the revenues of the parish to the newly-established Priory (later Abbey) of Paisley. The parish has a high level of rainfall. This proved attractive to textile finishers and to cotton-spinners. The first cotton-spinning mill in the parish was the Dovecothall Mill (1780), in what is now the town of Barrhead.This was followed by mills at Gateside (1786), and Crofthead (1792), immediately below the existing village of Neilston, which was enlarged to house its workers. The original mill was destroyed by fire in 1883, but in 1881 a sewing-thread mill was founded on the site by the Glasgow firm of R F and J Alexander. Over the next few years this complex grew to a considerable size, and was in due course absorbed by the English Sewing Cotton Co Ltd. This was in turn taken over by what became Coats Viyella, and closed in 1993. The village of Neilston, on the hill above the mills, was expanded in the late-19th century by the building of rows of terraced housing. Neilston has remained a small village while Barrhead, once in its parish, has become a sizeable town.

The present parish church is on the site of the 12th century one. At first sight it looks like a typical late 18th church, but its history is remarkably complex. Part of the north wall, with a three-light window, possibly dates from the 15th century, when the church appears to have been on a rectangular plan. As the population expanded in the mid-18th century two shallow wings, with galleries, were added to give it a T-plan. In 1789 a steeple was added. In 1796-8, to accommodate workers in the Crofthead Mills, the corners of the T were filled in, creating a rectangular plan, with a horse-shoe gallery facing the pulpit. This work was carried out by a Paisley architect, William Lamb. Finally, a vestry was added in front of the steeple in 1820. The church and graveyard are on a walled mound. The entrance is flanked by two small buildings; one on the left was built in 1817 as a watch-house, to protect burials from grave-robbers. The one on the right was constructed as a session-house and cloakroom, in about 1908. The church contains some good stained glass by Stephen Adam and Sons and the Abbey Studios. Most of the furnishings are late-Victorian.

In 1872-73 a United Presbyterian church was constructed in the village. This became Neilston United Free Church in 1900. In 1929, when the United Free Church merged with the Church of Scotland, this became Neilston South Parish Church, with the subject of this article known as Neilston Old. The congregations united in 1964 as Neilston Parish Church, with the South Church as a hall.

The village of Neilston is in a very pleasant setting, among the Renfrewshire heights. The tallest local hill, Neilston Pad, is a splendid viewpoint. The community is served by an electric train service from Glasgow Central Station, so it is easy and rewarding to visit this intriguing church, with its many-layered history, and to reflect on the varied and rich industrial history of this remarkable parish.