Johnstone’s past River Clyde link reveal at Paisley u3a

History buffs can discover there’s more to Johnstone than meets the eye at u3a. 

Guest speaker and local historian, Iain Murray is set to reveal Johnstone’s varied past.  Paisley and District members will also discover this town’s connection with the Clyde.

The free talk takes place on Thursday 6 February at 2pm in the Salvation Army Hall in Mill Street (PA1 1ND).  u3a members can enjoy a chat and refreshments from 1.30pm.

Iain Murray, chairperson of the Johnstone History Society, said: “Johnstone, as a town, was created by George Houstoun, the Laird of Johnstone in February 1782.  This was to exploit opportunities created by the Industrial Revolution.  Cotton was arriving from across the Atlantic and spinning mills were required. The river systems in the area would power for the mills.  Johnstone was ideally placed to take advantage of this opportunity.

“However, the Glasgow merchants who started the cotton trade had a problem.  The Clyde was too shallow for the ships to get to Glasgow.  My talk explores how Johnstone grew and its twin connections with cotton mills and the development of the River Clyde.”     

u3 a chair, Kathy O’Donnell remarked: “I’m sure we will find out some fascinating facts from Iain’s talk.  Events in the past often shape the development of a local community.   We look forward to knowing a bit more than we thought we did about Johnstone.”

Full details on our groups/activities and how to join at: https://paisleydistrict.u3asite.uk/