Howwood

Village in Renfrewshire, Scotland

For the village in Hertfordshire, England, see How Wood.

Human settlement in Scotland

Howwood

* Scottish Gaelic: Coille an Dail
* Scots: The Howewuid

Howwood

Location within Renfrewshire

Population| 1,600 (2022)[1]
OS grid reference| NS397602
Council area|

* Renfrewshire

Lieutenancy area|

* Renfrewshire

Country| Scotland
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| JOHNSTONE
Postcode district| PA9
Dialling code| 01505
Police| Scotland
Fire| Scottish
Ambulance| Scottish
UK Parliament|

* Paisley and Renfrewshire South

Scottish Parliament|

* Renfrewshire South

List of places

Scotland

55°48′32″N 4°33′29″W﻿ / ﻿55.809°N 4.558°W﻿ / 55.809; -4.558

Howwood (Scots: The Howewuid,[2] Scottish Gaelic: Coille an Dail)[3] is a village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is between Johnstone and Lochwinnoch, just off the A737 dual carriageway between the nearby town of Paisley and the Ayrshire border. It is served by Howwood railway station.

## History

[edit]

Howwood seen from a nearby bike trail

Its name is listed in the late 19th century Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland as "Howwood or Hollow-wood".[4] Hollow-Wood is an anglicisation of the Scots language name Howewuid.[2] The Surname Database gives the following etymology for the equivalent surname 'Howood': a topographical name from residence by a muddy wood, deriving from the pre-7th-Century Old English "horh", mud, slime, and "wudu", wood.[5]

Historically part of the civil parish of Lochwinnoch, it now supports its own Community Council.[6]

The chief industry in the village was formerly bleaching and the finishing of cotton cloth and thread, particularly from the mills of Paisley and the other Renfrewshire villages. Two main bleaching works existed at Bowfield and Midtownfield, the former being the last to close in the 1960s.[7]

Overlooking the village on Kenmure Hill is the Temple, a circular folly built around 1760 and whose purpose is unknown.[8] In the hills above Howwood also lie the remains of Elliston Castle, a tower house once home to the Semple family.[7] A battle took place between Government forces and Covenanters at Muirdykes on the 18 June 1685, led by the Cochrane family of Johnstone[8] The Iron Age hillfort of Walls Hill lies on Whittliemuir with the Walls Loch lying to the west of it.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Population estimates for settlements and localities in Scotland: mid-2020". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
2. ^ a b "The Online Scots Dictionary". Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
3. ^ List of railway station names in English, Scots and Gaelic – NewsNetScotland Archived 2013-01-22 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Hodges, Holburn Head, Holehouse, Holekettle or Kettle Bridge, Holl, Holland, Hollandbush, Hollows, Hollow-Wood or Howwood, Hollybush, Hollylee, Holm, Holmains, Holme or Holme Rose, Holms Water, Holybush, Holydean Castle, Holy Isle
5. ^ "Surname Database: Howood Last Name Origin".
6. ^ Howwood Community Council
7. ^ a b "Renfrewshire Community Website - Howwood". Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
8. ^ a b "Howwood Village Renfrewshire Scotland Community Website".

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Howwood.

* Howwood village website

* v
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Settlements in Renfrewshire

Towns|

* Paisley
* Renfrew
* Johnstone
* Erskine
* Linwood

Villages|

* Bishopton
* Bridge of Weir
* Brookfield
* Crosslee
* Elderslie
* Houston
* Howwood
* Inchinnan
* Kilbarchan
* Langbank
* Lochwinnoch

Areas of
Paisley|

* Abbotsinch
* Castlehead
* Charleston
* Dykebar
* Ferguslie Park
* Foxbar
* Gallowhill
* Glenburn
* Hawkhead
* Inkerman
* Ralston

See also List of places in Renfrewshire

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

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