County Dossier
Renfrewshire
A royal shire – cradle of Scotland’s kings.
Renfrewshire is a maritime county on the south bank of the River Clyde, west of Glasgow. Much of the population is concentrated near the city or along the coast.
At a glance
Renfrewshire at a glance
A royal shire – cradle of Scotland’s kings.
- Land of the Stewarts
- Paisley Abbey founded (1163)
- Birthplace of Lena Zavaroni, singer
- Area: 245 sq miles / 635 sq km
- Population: 508,064
- County Top: Hill of Stake (1,713ft / 522m)
County Geography
Renfrewshire meets Lanarkshire to the east and south-east and Ayrshire to the south and south-west, while Dunbartonshire lies across the Clyde to the north and Argyllshire faces the county across the firth to the west. The county is shaped by the River Clyde and lower firth shore, the inland rise of the Renfrewshire Heights, and the coastal strip running westward to Greenock and Gourock.
River, firth, and upland edge give Renfrewshire a strong county form. That pattern makes the county easy to recognise despite its dense settlement.
Map Reference
View Renfrewshire on the map
Renfrewshire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Renfrew, Paisley, Greenock, Port Glasgow, and Gourock show the county from its central river towns to the lower firth ports and coastal edge.
Connections
The county’s routes have long followed the Clyde, linked Paisley with the coast, and run west along the firth-side port belt. Movement follows the same river, firth, and upland-edge pattern.
Names
- Renfrewshire
- County of Renfrew
- Siorrachd Rinn Friù
Siorrachd Rinn Friù is the Gaelic form of Renfrewshire. County of Renfrew is the formal historical style, Renfrews is the shortened documentary form, and charters preserve the spelling Reinfrew.
The county was a sheriffdom by the twelfth century and is bound closely to the rise of the Stewarts, whose name later became royal. The Clyde bank, firth ports, and inland heights still define Renfrewshire clearly.