Local History

A brief history of the Lochwinnoch area

The name originates from 'Loch of St Wynnin' or Finnian. Noted as lochynoc 1158. There are map references to kirk of Lochwinnoch on maps dating back to at least 1654.

Lochwinnoch is located 5 miles/8km west of Paisley on the A760 and B786. The village is Situated on the banks of the River Calder which once powered its grain and cotton mills and was also a centre for bleaching and the manufacturing of furniture. In 1795, there were nine mills located here and the village was developed principally to accommodate the work force. It is now mainly a residential village. Being a conservation area, much of he character of this 17th century village has been retained. The village's small size means that many properties look out over the adjacent countryside and there are a variety of properties available. Commuters find easy access to the A737 and Lochwinnoch railway station brings it within commuting distance to Glasgow.

POINTS OF INTEREST
The Brown Bull (pub) was originally built as a coaching inn in 1809, used by traders involved in the transportation of cotton and wool to the Paisley mills. The interior is very 'olde worlde' with its wood-beams and two centuries of wood smoke on the ceiling.

The front gable of St. Winnoc's church still stands at the east end of the High Street. Its early 19th century replacement complements the formal open space of Harvey Square. The church was built on the site of the pre-reformation church and had been acquired from the monks associated with Paisley Abbey at the end of the 16th Century during the Reformation. 'Old Simon' is dedicated to St. John. Johnshill, more properly St.John's Hill and St. John's well, is in the garden adjacent to the Church Yard. St. John was to the old Celtic church what St. Peter is to the Roman church."

The village is close to the large Muirshiel Regional Park which includes the Lochwinnoch Nature Reserve and Castle Semple Country Park, a nationally recognised wildfowl sanctuary and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). About 160 species of birds have been recorded here The Loch is also popular for a variety of watersports. The regional park caters for a range of tastes, including boating, cycling, windsurfing, canoeing, fishing and walking, and is home to the Castle Semple Regatta. Woodland walks are available, as well as walks to the moorland areas and to Calder River Waterfalls and Windy Hill. Clyde Muirshiel is one of Scotland's four Regional Parks. It covers over 100 square miles and includes moorland, farmland, glens, lochs, woodland and coast. The Muirshiel Visitor Centre is the ideal starting point for moorland walks or a climb to the summit of the aptly named Windy Hill. The Centre lies 4 miles north-west of Lochwinnoch at the end of a sign posted single track road off the B786 Lochwinnoch to Kilmacolm road. Hourly trains run to Lochwinnoch from Glasgow Central. The Castle Semple Visitor Centre is also in Lochwinnoch, on Lochlip Road. It is the Regional Park's focal point for water sports and has full access for wheelchair users.

The grouse shooting season starts on the 'glorious 12th of August' and continues through to December. Apart from red grouse, rare black grouse and foxes make their homes in the hills.

HISTORY
The beginnings of Lochwinnoch go back to the stone age about 3000BC. Well preserved bronze age artefacts have been found and an iron age fort can still be seen on Knockmade Hill. Hollowed out tree trunks used as canoes in the shallow lochs have also been found. The remains of Barr Castle, and early 16th-century square tower can be found near Lochwinnoch. The village of Lochwinnoch grew up around it's church and by the thirteenth century the chapel of Lochwinnoch was under control of monks of nearby Paisley Abbey. A new church was built in 1729. Part of it, now known as 'Auld Simon', still stands in the old churchyard. An old house, built in 1731 and thought to be the manse can still be seen in Jonshill. The Semples of Elliston fought for Robert the Bruce and came to Lochwinnoch area in 1474. They were appointed Hereditary Sheriffs of Renfrewshire and Hereditary Baillies of Paisley, and later created Lords Semple. Their lands of Castle Semple and Elliston guarded another land route south. The Semples steadily grew in power to become the Steward's hereditary Baillies of Renfrewshire and their extensive land holdings were around Lochwinnoch, where the High Steward had jealously preserved fishing rights - to the extent that Paisley Abbey could only take fish from that Loch when the High Steward himself was fishing. Nothing remains of Castle Semple and its 18th century successor. Castle Semple House remains only as buildings such as the west gate and a hexagonal folly known as The Temple, which was built in 1770.

The Peel is an historic tower, built around 1560 by Robert, the third Lord Semple when fierce family feuds were gong on between his kinsfolk and their enemies. Originally on a small island, it now stands on a wooded causeway between Castle Semple Loch and the Aird Meadow RSPB reserve. The Scottish Office recently added it to the Schedule of Monuments considered to be of national importance, thereby ensuring its protection. The Peel can be viewed from the Loch by hiring a row boat and rowing over the Loch. No land access is available. In 1504 John, the first Lord Semple built the Collegiate Church which became one of Scotlands finest schools and whose ruins are still to be seen. He was killed at the Battle of Flodden. In 1727 the Semples sold the estate to the MacDowalls of Garthland whose mansion house (1735) burned down in 1924.

The village was primarily agricultural until 1740 when the first linen factory was built. The industrial revolution at the end of the eighteenth century with it's mills and factories generated a demand for new housing and a planned extension or new town was built. It centred on the current cross and involved the creation of a new High Street and Main Street with Calder Street and Church Street at right angles to them. Two new churches were built and are still in use today. The streams rushing down from the moors north of the village provided water power for early industry, At one time there were twenty thread mills in the parish.

Large weaving mills were established in the 1780's and Calderhugh Mill (now converted into attractive flats) employed 240 by 1791. In 1900 silk weaving began in Lochwinnoch and continued very successfully until 1985. Furniture making also established in the village in the 1800's, and Lochwinnoch furniture was to be found in the great Clyde built liners such as the Lusitania, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and the Belfast built Titanic.

The former Muirshiel barytes mine, situated in rugged moorland about 2.5 miles beyond the car park at Muirshiel Centre, was worked more or less continuously for over 200 years beginning in the mid-18th century. Barytes, or barium sulphate, is a high density mineral used in oil drilling, paint and paper-making, and - as a 'barium meal', in x-ray procedures. During the early years of production, all mineral extraction was done by open cast working, leaving rocky gullies which are still evident today. Later excavations took place to a depth of 660 feet. The mine closed in 1969, unable to compete with the quality or cost of barytes produced abroad, and the shafts were sealed off. The area around the mine remains a fascinating excursion for the amateur geologist, with a variety of rocks including strontianite, calcite, pyrite, quartz and celestine.

Located in the Renfrewshire hills, mainly on Duchal Moor, was once a narrow gauge railway line, known as the Grouse Railway Line, by locals. The line was about 5 miles long and crossed hundreds of acres of boggy moorland in the hills between Lochwinnoch and Kilmacolm. It was constructed in 1922 by shipping magnate Henry Lithgow and it provided rail access to the shooting butts for field sportsmen from all over Britain who descended on the moors to test their shooting skills against the fast-flying game birds which skimmed low across the heather to escape the cracking guns. Supported on wooden sleepers, the line had three branches - one northwards to the Laverock Stone, another westwards to the Laird's Seat and the third southwards to Smeath Hill. The line started at Hardridge Farm, where the engines and passenger-wagons were stored in a corrugated-iron shed. The 24-inch gauge tracks were a combination of ex-First World War and former colliery light railway lines. The sleepers were from dismantled warships while the two petrol-driven engines had been in use at an ordnance factory at Gretna. Among the many visitors said to have ridden on the Grouse Railway was King Edward VIII during a shooting excursion to Scotland. The line remained in use until the 1970’s. The engines and wagons remain preserved, and sections of track, points and buffers remain in place.

The grouse-shooting season starts annually on 12th August. The railway came to Lochwinnoch in 1840, and the village is still fortunate to retain a station on the busy electrified Glasgow to Ayr line. A second line which came through the village on it's way to Kilburnie has now been converted to a cycle track which forms part of the National Cycling network.

The village population has been recorded as 1192 (1881), 3885 (1961) and 2275 (1991).

Reproduced with permission http://www.happyhaggis.co.uk/lochwinnoch.htm

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