Kilbarchan - About the Area

Formerly known as Kylberhan or Kilberchan, the village was a religious centre named after the 7th century saint St. Barchan who spent part of his life in a cell on the site of the present Kilbarchan West Parish Church (built 1901). The site was originally the Chapel of St. Katrine, founded about 1483. Originally agriculture was the main industry, but by the time of the 1695 Poll Tax, other trades of masonry, carpentry, weaving, tailors and smithies were emerging. Linen weaving began in 1739 and by 1774 there were 180 hand looms in the village, rising to 383 in 1791, and increasing to about 800 by 1836. A preserved example of a weavers cottage, owned by the National Trust for Scotland, is at Kilbarchan Cross, and is open for viewing. The advent of the power-loom in the 1880's saw the prosperity of the village decline dramatically.