Paisley Abbey sits on green lawns overlooking the White Cart river. It was built near the site of a much earlier church founded by St Mirin on the banks of the White Cart river.
Paisley Abbey was founded by Walter FitzAlan whose family origins were from Brittany in France. His family arrived in England during the Norman Conquest and Walter was appointed by King David I as his High Steward in 1136. As well as David I, Walter also served two other Scottish kings and in 1160, King Malcolm IV appointed Walter as High Steward of Scotland.
Walter founded Paisley Abbey to mark his promotion to this role. This role became hereditary and his grandson Walter took the name of Stewart and this is the origin of the House of Stewart royal family. The six early Stewards/Stewarts are buried in the Abbey. Robert the Bruce’s daughter Marjorie married Walter Stewart, the 6th High Steward but sadly she died in a riding accident while pregnant. She is buried in the Abbey. Her son Robert survived and became King Robert II of Scotland in 1371, the first of 14 Stewart Kings and Queens. His son, King Robert III, is buried in the Abbey.
The descendants of this line include the present King Charles III.
In 1163, Walter, the founder of Paisley Abbey made arrangements for thirteen monks from the Cluniac monastery of Much Wenlock in Shropshire to settle in Renfrew then Paisley. The Order of Cluny whose monasteries spread across much of Europe from Cluny Abbey which can be considered the greatest monastery of its time. Founded in the 10th century, the order of Cluny restored the rule of Saint Benedict as set down in AD 529 which stressed the importance of austerity, routine and discipline. The Order of Cluny benefited from the protection of the papacy and extended its influence across Europe to the point that nearly a thousand establishments were attributed to it at the end of the 13th century.
Crossraguel Abbey is another Scottish Abbey of the Order of Cluny. Paisley Abbey was home to monks of the Order of Cluny for 400 years until the Reformation in Scotland. The Abbey continued as a place of worship for the people of Paisley after that time.
The Cavaillé-Coll organ was produced by the great French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811 – 1899). It arrived from Paris in December 1873 and was completed in February 1874. A large audience attended the inauguration when Glasgow city organist, Henry A. Lambeth played the organ and the chorus and orchestra of the Paisley Musical Association also took part.
The Abbey is open most days and guided tours are available on certain days. There is a gift shop and cafe and Saturday lunch hour concerts and evening concerts as well as church services and evensong. (www.paisleyabbey.org.uk)
