Ranfurly (Scottish Gaelic: Rann Feòirling) is a small settlement on the southern edge of the village of Bridge of Weir, which lies within the Gryffe Valley in the council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the West-Central Lowlands of Scotland.
Ranfurly owes its name to the 15th century Ranfurly Castle and to form a dormitory settlement of residential housing in the Victorian Era. Today Ranfurly is a conservation area.
Contents |
| Ranfurly | |
|---|---|
Ranfurly Castle was constructed in the 15th century and was the seat of the Knox family who, in the 19th century, took the title of Earl of Ranfurly in the Peerage of Ireland. Remains of the Castle exist today as part of the Old Course Ranfurly Golf Club and has been derelict since 1665. [1]
The settlement of Ranfurly originated primarily in the 1880s to 1910s, providing luxury housing development in the higher land above the village following the expansion of the area and the arrival of the railway in Bridge of Weir in 1864.[2]
Significant in the area was the Ranfurly Hotel, now a joint residential and retail building known as Castle Terrace, which was built in 1882 in the Scots Baronial style. It was closed as a hotel prior to the First World War and seen a number of uses since.[3]
Ranfurly is part of Bridge of Weir for local government purposes, which is in turn part of the council area of Renfrewshire, as well the historic county of Renfrewshire which has wider boundaries and retains some official functions, for example as a registration county and lieutenancy area.
For elections to Renfrewshire Council, Bridge of Weir is part of ward 10, named 'Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank', which elects three of Renfrewshire's forty councillors.[4] These members are: Cllr Michael Holmes (Labour), Cllr Iain Langlands (Conservative) and Cllr Carol Puthucheary (SNP).[4]
Bridge of Weir is also one of Renfrewshire's twenty-seven community council areas, which represents the Ranfurly area.[5] Historically, Bridge of Weir was split between the civil parishes of Houston and Kilellan and Kilbarchan, with Ranfurly falling into the latter.
The former Ranfurly Church merged with St Machar's Church, also in the area, to form the Ranfurly St Machar Church in 1968 within the Church of Scotland. The latter church building, constructed in 1878 in the Gothic Revival style, is now used by the joint congregation. The former Ranfurly Church has been converted into private residences.[6]
St Machar's, and later Ranfurly St Machar's, has been the historical parish church of Bridge of Weir since the area's elevation to a quoad sacra parish in 1887.[7]