Scroll down to view our main index to local history posts or select a local council area below.
Discover Renfrewshire’s amazing heritage
On the 1st April 1996 The Old County of Renfrew was broken up under local government reform. Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde now represent the historical County of Renfrew along parts of Glasgow that were originally part of the county. Between them they host a vast array of heritage sites from Prehistory, Roman Forts, Castles, Religious buildings, grain mills, textile mills and so much more.
History Cafe’s
Our History Cafes have restarted and take place on the 3rd Saturday of the month. Only 6 places are availale for each Cafe.
We meet between 10 and 11.30am in Blend Coffee Lounge @ Paisley Arts Centre on New Street, Paisley PA1 1EZ. Booking is essential – click the image to go to our booking website – The Urban Historian
From September 2025 we are introducting a booking fee of £5 – £4.92 of which will be donated to the Beatson Cancer Charity (The missing 8p is banking fees!)
The Discovery Series of Talks
Our History Talks recommenced in August 2025
We are currently planning talks for October 2025 onwards and details will be posted on the Urban Historian Booking site shortly. Due to other activites there will be no talk in September.
October talk will be on the Village of Kilbarchan. Click the image to find out more and book..
Our November talk will be “From the cottage to the Castle: the Coats family of Paisley”
Click the image to discover more about the talk and book.
Discover the Old County of Renfrew
Local History Posts
Select your desired modern day county and explore its history!
Discover Renfrewshire
Click above to discover more in our Renfrewshire history blogs on the area
Discover East Renfrewshire
Click above to discover more in our East Renfrewshire history blogs on the area
Discover Inverclyde
Modern day Inverclyde contains Greenock, Port Glasgow, Gourock, Inverkip, Kilmacolm and Wemyss Bay.
Click above to discover more in our Inverclyde history blogs on the area
Discover Old Parts of Renfrewshire
From the 17th Century onwards parts of Old Renfrewshire were incorporated into Lanarkshire, and now come under Glasgow.
Click above to discover more in our Now Glasgow history blogs on the area
Click here to view our full index
Latest History Blog Posts
Other Services
The Urban Historian website is our main place to discover and book our heritage walks and talks. Details of all of our events are posted there, along with links to our publications and other merchandise.
Renfrewshire Ancestors is our dedicated Genealogy/ Family History website. Here you can discover our different research packages and other useful links for Renfrewshire Records that can aid you family history research.
SJCResearch
SJCResearch is our corporate website relating to all of our activities. Here you will find our portfolio, along with links to other websites and details of Historical research packages (not genealogy) for clients such as businesses and local authorities.