Barshaw House (now flats) is situated at the
back of Barshaw Park in the east end of Paisley.
It was built in the early 1800s by Robert Smith,
and later reconstructed by wealthy Paisley
businessman James Arthur. The estate was sold to
Paisley Town Council in 1911, with the park
officially opening the following year. The
mansion house became an infirmary, and in1917 a
military hospital for wounded soldiers.
Paisley Town Council then opened Barshaw
Hospital as a maternity and child welfare unit in
1921 (giving birth to the well known Paisley
phrase "were you born in a park ?"). It
was transferred to the National Health Service in
1948 as Barshaw Maternity Hospital and was under
the Board of Management for Paisley and District
Hospitals until 1974 when it was placed in the
Renfrew District of Argyll and Clyde Health
Board. It closed as a maternity hospital in 1959
and reopened as a geriatric hospital in 1961.
From ThePeerage.com
Thomas Glen Arthur married Elizabeth Winthrop
Coats, daughter of Sir James Coats, 1st Bt. and
Sarah Ann Auchincloss, on 26 September 1888. He
died on 2 February 1907. Thomas Glen Arthur lived
at Barshaw, Renfrewshire, Scotland.
Barshaw House today
Millar A H (1889) The castles and
mansions of Renfrewshire and Buteshire
The mansion of Barshaw stands about a mile and
a-half to the east of Paisley, and its commanding
tower attracts the attention of the tourist who
travels from Glasgow by rail in that direction.
The oldest portion of the building was erected
early in the present century by the then
proprietor, Mr. Robert Smith; but after it was
acquired by the late Mr. James Arthur, he made
extensive additions to it, and entirely
re-constructed the interior. The alterations then
made have had the effect of transforming what was
a plain and commodious country residence into a
magnificent mansion-house. One of the main
features of the new building is the large
conservatory.
James Arthur of Barshaw, by whom these
alterations were made, merits some notice as one
of the most successful Glasgow merchants of
modern times. He was born at Paisley in 1819),
and entered into business there at an early age.
His first venture having been eminently
successful, he soon removed to Glasgow, where he
found a much wider field for the exercise of his
mercantile ability than was afforded by his
native town. About forty years ago he entered
into partnership with the late Mr. Hugh Fraser,
and founded a drapery establishment- at the
corner of Buchanan Street and Argyll Street,
Glasgow, under the designation of Arthur &
Fraser. The business was rapidly extended and
additional accommodation provided, until the
warehouse in Argyll Street, which had once been
amply sufficient for its requirements, had
developed into an extensive block of buildings.
The firm still exists in a flourishing condition,
under the style of Fraser, Sons & Co.; but
Mr. Arthur's connection with the firm ceased many
years ago.
In 1860 he founded the wholesale drapery
business of Arthur & Company, which has since
become one of the largest concerns of the kind in
the kingdom. Its development was principally
accomplished through the untiring energy,
activity, and business capacity of Mr. Arthur;
and his enterprising spirit led him to open up
new commercial fields in various parts of the
world. Nor were his efforts confined to one
department of commercial enterprise: he was one
of the founders of Young's Paraffin Company, and
was deeply interested in the " Loch Line
" of ships trading to Australia, and in the
famous " Clan Line " of steamers. He
was, for many years, a prominent Member of the
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, and was deeply
interested in the progress of that city. Mr.
Arthur was actively engaged in business up till
the time of his death, which took place on 17th
June, 1885. The estate is now in the possession
of his widow, Mrs. Jane Arthur.
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