I AISLEY, a municipal and parliamentary burgh, and an important manufacturing t. of Scotland, in the co. of Renfrew, on both banks of the White Cart, 3 m. above its junction with the Clyde, and 7 m. w.s.w. of Glasgow by railway. The progress of the town has been much hindered by the fact that it was bankrupt for nearly 30 years. A bill was, passed in 1872, by which a settlement was effected, and the town property restored to the corporation. Since then, extensive improvements have been made. An abundant supply of water is brought from the Gleniffer hills, and more recently front Rowbank.
By far the most interesting edifice is the abbey. It was founded by Walter, the high steward of Scotland, about 1163, for a prior and 13 monks of the Cluniac order of reformed Benedictines, and was dedicated to St. James, St. Mirren, and St. Milburga. It was the burying-place of the Stewarts before the accession of that family to the throne, and was occasionally used by them afterward as a place of sepulture. It was raised to thc'rank of an abbey in 1245. What remains of the building is the nave, of 6 bays, chiefly in the first pointed style. In 1862 a thorough restoration of the abbey (at a cost of £4,000) was made, the happiest feature of which was the removal of the unsightly galleries. The eastern gable window represents the ascension. It is of Munich manu facture. Another window has been inserted by the St. Andrew's society of Glasgow, in memory of sir William Wallace, who, if he was born at Ellerslie, was a native of the abbey parish. Extensive improvements in the surroundings of the abbey have also been made.
Among the other edifices, the principal are the county buildings, a quadrangular pile in the castellated style; the Neilson educational institution, a noble bequest, built in the form of a Greek cross, and surmounted by a fine dome; the infirmary; the school of design; and the grammar-school. This last institution was founded by king James VI.,
and the present building was completed in June, 1864. In 1870 a free public library and museum was presented to the town, and is maintained by the community under the free libraries act; and by a similar act of liberality, its amenity was increased by a pleasure ground named the fountain gardens. In 1873 a native of Paisley bequeathed £20,000 for the erection of a town hall. Paisiello possesses a trust for the education of boys born in the burgh and abbey parish, the revenue of which amounts to £500, and is spent on educational bursaries.
In the beginning of the last century the principal manufactures were coarse linens and checkered cloths. About the middle of that century the weaving of linen and of silk gauze became the staple manufactures. In 1784 silk gauze was manufactured to the value of £350,000. and employed 5,000 looms. Shawls, which used to be a principal and are still an important article of manufacture, began to be made here in the beginning of the present century. Within recent years the annual value of the shawl trade of Paisiello was estimated at about £1,000,000 sterling, but it has now greatly declined. Cotton thread is manufactured on a most extensive scale; indeed Paisiello may be considered the seat of the thread manufacture for the home and American markets. Different varieties of tartan cloths, handkerchiefs, carpets, etc. are made; soap, starch, and corn flour are largely manufactured; dyeing is carried on by several firms on an extensive scale; and power-loom factories, print-works, machine shops, bleach-fields, ship-building yards, etc., are in operation in the town and vicinity. At the St. James' day fair, horse-races, originated by act of the bailies of the burgh in 1608, are held. Pop. '71, 48, 257.