Kilbarchan
Renfrewshire

Kilbarchan
©2011 Gazetteer for Scotland

A village situated 5 miles (8 km) west of Paisley, Kilbarchan was a religious centre named for the 7th-century St Barchan. In the 18th and 19th centuries weavers operated about 800 hand looms. In 1954 the Weaver's Cottage (1723) at the Cross was given to the National Trust for Scotland by the last handloom weaver in the house. On the Kilbarchan Steeple (1755) is a bronze statue of 'Habbie' Simpson, a famous piper of the 16th century.

Nearby Ranfurly Castle was the residence of the Knox family of whom John Knox was a descendant.

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