Renfrewshire, a county in the south-west of Scotland, bounded on the N. by the river and firth of Clyde, on the E. by Lanarkshire, and on the S. and W. by Ayrshire. Though only twenty-sixth of the Scottish counties in regard to size, it stands fifth in population. It is 31 miles long by 13 broad, and contains 254 sq. m. or 162,428 acres, of which 5642 are water and foreshore. Pop. (1801) 78,056; (1851) 161,091; (1881) 263,374; (1891) 290,798. The surface is irregular: besides the low lands fringing the Clyde, there are three principal valleys, those of the Gryfe, the Black Cart, and the White Cart, with upland pastures and ranges of hills, the highest point being the Hill of Stake (1711 feet) on the borders of Ayrshire.
Agriculture and the breeding of horses and cattle are carried on with success; dairy-farming is largely practised, owing to the proximity of large towns. Rather less than two-thirds of the whole extent is arable, mainly in pasture or grass crops. The minerals are coal, iron-stone, shale, and lime; copper occurs at Gourcock and Lochwinnoch; and in the latter parish barytes is wrought. Besides mining and agriculture, numerous industries flourish in various parts of the county, the principal being the manufacture of thread, cotton, and chemicals, print and bleach works, shipbuilding, engineering, and sugar-refining. Renfrewshire is well supplied with roads and railways, and has two considerable ports—Greenock and Port-Glasgow. It is divided for administrative purposes into two wards, Upper and Lower, with sheriff-substitutes at Paisley and Greenock. There are two parliamentary divisions, eastern and western, each returning one member. Till 1889 part of the southern suburbs of Glasgow was reckoned within the county. The chief towns, besides those mentioned, are Renfrew, the county town and only royal burgh, Pollokshaws, Johnstone, and Barrhead. Renfrewshire, or at least the western portion, was anciently called Strathgryfe, and it was the chief patrimony of the house of Stewart. In 1404, not long after the accession of that family to the crown, the title of Baron of Renfrew (still borne by the Prince of Wales) was conferred by Robert III. on his son James; and about the same time Renfrew was disjoined from the sheriffdom of Lanark and made a separate county.
See Crawford's History of the Shire of Renfrew (1716), and Historical Collections of the County (Paisley, 1885; not completed).