Old Photographs Of Neilston East Renfrewshire Scotland

Tour Scotland wee video of old photographs of Neilston, Scottish Gaelic: Baile Nèill, a village and parish in East Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands.Neilston is mentioned in documents as early as the twelfth century, when the feudal lord Robert de Croc, endowed a chapel to Paisley Abbey to the North. Neilston Parish Church is said to stand on the site of this original chapel and has lain at the centre of the community since 1163. Sadly little remains of the original structure. Crofthead Mill, known locally as Neilston Mill, was established in 1792. It was one of seven large cotton mills on the banks of the River Levern between Neilston and Dovecothall. Because of the large size of the complex, coupled with its short distance from the main residential core of Neilston, it was described in 1830, at the peak of the industry's prosperity, as " a little town of its self. " Cowden Hall the former Mill owners Estate home was established during World War 1 as auxiliary hospital and served as a convalescence home, for British and Belgian soldiers. Auxiliary hospitals were usually staffed by: a commandant, who was in charge of the hospital except for the medical and nursing services; a quartermaster, who was responsible for the receipt, custody and issue of articles in the provision store, a matron, who directed the nursing staff, members of the local Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD), who were trained in first aid and home nursing. The Stevenson family of lighthouse designers and civil engineers, which included Robert, Alan and Thomas, as well as Treasure Island writer Robert Louis Stevenson, came of a family that farmed land in Neilston parish.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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