Paisley Abbey

Paisley Abbey was founded in 1163 and is a large example of Gothic architecture, principally of the first and third pointed Gothic styles, comprising a six-bay nave and aisles, a six-bay aisleless choir, aisleless transepts, and a central tower. The earliest surviving elements are the three eastern bays of the south aisle, dating around 1190, and the west bay of the nave with the lower part of the west front, both from the 13th century. The majority of the structure is from the 15th century. St Mirren's Chapel or Aisle was added to the south transept in 1499.

The abbey has undergone several phases of restoration and alteration, beginning with work to the nave in 1788-9. Between 1859 and 1862, J Salmon, the architect, restored the nave and partially repaired the transepts. From 1888 to 1907, Rowand Anderson, the architect, worked on the transepts and the lower part of the central tower. The years 1912 to 1928 saw P Macgregor Chalmers, the architect, reconstruct the walls of the choir, add a vestry, and rebuild part of the cloister; this was subsequently altered by R S Lorimer, who also designed the choir vault and upper stage of the tower. In 1980-1, an 18th-century plaster ceiling in the nave was removed and replaced with an open timber roof with tie beams.

The interior features sexpartite and ridge store vaulting in the nave aisles and a pointed barrel vault with decorative ribs in St Mirren’s Aisle. The choir, transepts, and crossing are now covered by modern stone vaults. The furnishings include choir stalls, a communion table, and other items designed by R S Lorimer. A pulpit, designed in 1904 by T G Abercrombie, and a lectern by J Craig Barr, are also present. Medieval bas-reliefs adorn the east wall of St Mirren’s Chapel. Monuments include a late 13th-century female recumbent effigy on a 15th-century tomb base, a memorial to Robert III by J Hutchison (1888) in the choir, and a memorial to W McDowal (1816), designed by Flaxman, at the extreme west of the south nave aisle.

The Barochan Cross, a free-standing sandstone monument, is an important example of early medieval sculpture from the former kingdom of Strathclyde, dating from around AD 900 – 1100. It stands approximately 1.95 meters high, excluding the base, and is decorated on all four sides with panels of interlace and key patterns. One side depicts a figural scene showing a mounted warrior, a man with a drinking horn, three other men (one with an axe), and two animals; the back has two panels, each with a line of four figures: four in long garments above four figures blowing trumpets and carrying spears. A War Memorial in Cloister Court, designed by Jeffrey Waddell to the designs of R Blomfield, dates from 1923. Stained glass from the 19th and 20th centuries, created by numerous artists and companies, is also part of the building.