page_title: Renfrewshire (historic)
section_title: Settlements
hierarchical_section_title: Renfrewshire (historic) / Settlements
caption_attribution_description: English: Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire
context_page_description: Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It contains the local government council areas of Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, as well as parts of Glasgow and is occasionally named Greater Renfrewshire to distinguish the county from the modern council area.
  The county borders the city of Glasgow and Lanarkshire to the east and Ayrshire to the south and west. The Firth of Clyde forms its northern boundary, with Dunbartonshire and Argyllshire on the opposing banks.
  Renfrewshire's early history is marked by ancient British and Roman settlement. Renfrewshire can trace its origin to the feudal lands at Strathgryfe granted to Walter Fitzalan, the first High Steward of Scotland. Robert III of Scotland, a descendant of Fitzalan, established the shire of Renfrew-based out of the Royal burgh of Renfrew, the site of the House of Stuart's castle and Renfrewshire's county town.
  During the Industrial Revolution, many of the larger towns became important centres of commerce and manufacturing.
context_section_description: In modern times, the chief settlements in Renfrewshire have been the towns of Paisley and Greenock and to this day they retain their status as the county's largest and second largest towns respectively. In the late 19th century, the county was subdivided into two wards centred on these towns, the Upper Ward (Paisley) and Lower Ward (Greenock).
  Renfrew was the only town in the county to hold status as a royal burgh. Three other considerable towns, Paisley, Greenock and Port Glasgow, were designated as parliamentary burghs. Barrhead, Pollokshaws (now part of the City of Glasgow), Gourock, and Johnstone were, during parts of the 19th and 20th century, police burghs as a result of their larger population, giving greater powers of local governance to local burgh authorities. The county also contains a number of significantly sized villages, such as Kilmacolm, Neilston and Lochwinnoch.
  These administrative separations are entirely extinct, with unitary councils in Renfrewshire's three modern council areas - Inverclyde (West), Renfrewshire (Central) and East Renfrewshire - holding full statutory powers of local government. Many of these settlements continue to be represented by community councils, sponsored by the local authority, albeit without any distinct powers.
caption: Lochwinnoch, one of the larger villages in the central area of the county.
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