Elderslie
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| Elderslie | |
|---|---|
 Elderslie's location locally and nationally |
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| Demographics | |
| Population: | 5,180 (1991 Census) |
| Administration | |
| Local Government Region: | Renfrewshire |
| Nation: | Scotland |
| Geography | |
| Traditional County: | Renfrewshire |
| Former Region: | Strathclyde |
| Grid reference: | NS445625 |
| Post Office and Telephone | |
| Post Town: | Johnstone |
| Postcode: | PA5 |
| Dialling Code: | 01505 |
Elderslie (Ach-na-Feàrna in Scottish Gaelic) is a village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The village, which sits midway between Paisley and Johnstone,
The village of Elderslie is old and has a rich history. There is an ancient cup and ring marked stone on the braes south of the village indicating very early settlement of the area. The most famous thing about Elderslie is that it is possibly the birth place of Scottish freedom fighter, Sir William Wallace.
The village hosts a large Wallace Memorial and marks the traditional site of William Wallace's birth. There are information panels to help residents and tourists learn more about the site's history. The outline of Elderslie Castle is marked on the ground and the remains of what are known locally as the "Wallace Buildings" are clearly seen. There is a parade and rally at the monument held in August every year commemorating Wallace's life.
Elderslie, until recently was home to the world famous Stoddards Carpets. Stoddards over its long history has supplied employment to many generations of residents. Stoddards have supplied carpets to Royal palaces and the Royal Yacht Britannia as well as the rich and famous. The company gained recognition when it produced the carpets for the ill-fated liner Titanic. When the film 'Titanic', starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio, was made Stoddards was asked to produce replica carpets for the film set. There is a stunning example of their work in the round room in Culzean Castle the Robert Adam designed castle on the coast south of Ayr overlooking Ailsa Craig.
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[edit] Education
The local school is called Wallace Primary School and was built in the early 70's. The original school sat on the main Road close to the village centre and was demolished with a special needs development built on the site.
[edit] Leisure
The village has a swimming pool located at Stoddart Square, the area was formerly a park. There is a golf club "Elderslie golf club" and a bowling club. Football pitches are located at Old Road and Glenpatrick Road although it appears only the grass pitch is open to local use, the "blaes" pitch out of use now the factory has gone. There is a children's play park beside the grass football pitch.
[edit] Transport
Elderslie station was demolished in the late 60's following Beeching's cuts and was once a very busy station being on the now mainline between Ayrshire and Glasgow. Pressed Steel/Rootes/Chrysler had a large presence in the area up until around 1980 when the car factory closed.There were extensive sidings used for loading cars onto transporter trains. There was a Tram depot on the road to Paisley which was gutted by fire and demolished in the 70's there has never been any development on the site which is adjacent to the tenements known as Newton Terrace. The dismantled railway line which ran from Paisley Canal Street station (reopened a few years ago as a line end station from Glasgow)now has a cycle track which runs through Elderslie, by Johnstone, up to Kilbarchan and onto Lochwinnoch and Kilbirnie, or to Bridge of Weir and Kilmacolm. The cycle run out to Kilmacolm, over to Loch Thom and down into Largs returning by train is particularly worthwhile.
[edit] Regeneration
In recent years the village has seen a lot of regeneration.
Currently the village has many housing building sites and the population is going up faster than ever. Elderslie has a local shopping area which boasts a picture framer, butcher, grocery shop, barber, hairdresser, chemist, flower and beauty shops as well as several food takeaway shops. There are also a Chinese and an Indian restaurant and a computer shop.
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