BACK in the sixth century, Mirren of Benchor, an Irish missionary, founded a church on the banks of the River Cart, possibly the site of an old Roman Fort.
He was later canonised, becoming St Mirren, and his abbey became a site of pilgrimage.
The abbey played an important role in Scotland’s wars of independence, with the Bruce and Stewart royal families being regulars. William Wallace is said to have been educated here. Bruce’s daughter, Princess Marjorie, was buried here. Her tomb still stands, one of the few royal monuments to survive the Reformation.
The Industrial Revolution and the subsequent rapid growth of the textiles industry brought English mill owners north of the Border.
By the mid-19th century weaving was the town’s principal industry, and shawls which bore the Paisley Pattern sold world wide.
In 1856 there was a fight between the weavers and the manufacturers over the sma’ shot, a cotton thread which bound all the colourful weft threads into the warps of the shawls.
Because the sma’ shot couldn’t be seen in the finished garments, the manufacturers didn’t want to pay for it. Weavers had no choice but to buy the thread themselves: without it the shawls would fall apart.
There were marches and protests and eventually the manufacturers backed down.
The first Saturday in July is now known as Sma’ Shot Day in honour of the victory.
The economic crisis of 1841-43 hit Paisley hard, with 67 of 112 mills going bankrupt.
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