PACE Theatre Company has announced actor James McArdle as its first patron. And the announcement comes as the company reveals the location of the building which is to be transformed into a new community theatre space for Paisley.

EXCHANGE will be dedicated to promoting and developing theatre for children, young people and families; as well as promoting participation by young people through performance and creative learning opportunities.

The vacant building on Old Sneddon St in Paisley, was most recently the site of a former nightclub (Mannequins) but was built as the New Templar Hall in 1932 and has been variously used as a dance hall, cinema and telephone exchange in its lifetime.

The building will provide a home venue for PACE’s own performances (almost 200 annually) as well as hosting a programme of professional touring productions, and offering an alternative venue for Renfrewshire’s thriving community performance scene. It’s planned flexible-use spaces will also allow for a host of creative learning opportunities.

James is a former PACE Youth Theatre member and since graduating from RADA in 2010 he has garnered a string of impressive credits including title roles in James I, Platonov and Peter Gynt at the National Theatre, a Broadway transfer of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, and as the Earl of Moray in the 2019 feature film Mary Queen of Scots.

James McArdle on being a patron of PACE

“I’ll always be grateful to PACE for the start that they gave me on my journey to becoming an actor, not just the skills I learnt when acting but how to have confidence in myself and hold my own. It is a privilege to be able support them in their ambitions.

“I have experienced first-hand that theatre has the power to be life-changing and already, it’s clear that through this building they will be able to create even more opportunities for young people and their families.

“It’s still the happiest time of my life, I felt like I had a voice and was listened to at PACE even though I was young. It taught me I had value and worth which has been a vital part in becoming an actor but also just in growing up.”

The first images showing how a vacant former retail unit at the heart of Paisley’s High Street will be turned into a 21st-century community facility housing library services have been revealed.

Construction will start soon on the £7m Paisley Learning and Cultural Hub – a new modern community and educational facility which will bring new footfall to the town centre.

When it opens in summer 2021, the building will provide a new digitally-connected home for a range of services, including those currently offered at Paisley Central Library.

As the images released show, that will include:

• a comprehensive internal remodelling of the existing building, over four floors
• an attractive ground-and-first-floor frontage with a modern look – which complements the High Street surroundings and preserves the historic features on the building’s upper floors
• children’s library with areas for areas for reading, play, storytelling and learning
• IT areas and suite – offering free public digital access in the heart of the town centre

The new facility is the latest example of how Renfrewshire Council is helping repopulate the town’s High Street by finding new cultural and community uses for vacant retail property.

It follows Paisley: The Secret Collection – the UK’s first publicly-accessible High St museum store -which opened two years ago in the basement of the town’s former Littlewoods store.

The four-floor unit at 22a High Street which will house the learning and cultural hub was last occupied by clothing chain Internacionale – but has been empty for a decade.

The work is part of a wider investment in the town’s venues and outdoor spaces which will see Paisley Museum transformed into a world-class home for the town’s internationally-significant collections, and Paisley Town Hall kept at the heart of local life as a landmark entertainment venue.

The project includes £1.5m funding from the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and is being delivered on behalf of the council by hub West Scotland who have appointed Collective Architecture to create the new design and main contractor CCG to deliver the refurbishment.

Do you know your towns from your villages, your landmarks from your listed buildings or your list of historic names and faces?

For a bit of festive fun, why not try our Renfrewshire Quiz – and tell all your friends so they can test their knowledge against you!

The award-winning Paisley Halloween Festival has scooped another top prize after it was named Best Cultural Event or Festival at the 2019/20 Scottish Thistle Awards West Scotland regional finals.

Organised by VisitScotland, the awards celebrate innovation, excellence and success in the Scottish hospitality and tourism sector.

The popular event in Renfrewshire Council’s annual calendar picked up the award for its 2018 festival, which saw crowds of over 34,000 people flock to the town across two days to enjoy an action-packed programme of spectacular aerial performances, thrilling live acts and a Mardi-Gras style parade with more than 500 costumed performers.

Inspired by the town’s dark and deathly 17th century witch history, the enhanced theme of ‘Something Wicked this Way Comes’ thrilled visitors from all over Scotland.

The festival was also one of the major events as part of VisitScotland’s Year of Young People 2018 celebrations, with young people at the heart of the festival’s development and delivery.

A 20-strong Youth Panel worked alongside Renfrewshire Council’s Events Team to design and deliver the programme, while more than 500 young people took part in a new creative learning programme. This provided young people with the opportunity to participate in all aspects of festival from performance to live event management and technical production.

Paisley Halloween Festival was among 15 winners in the Regional Finals for the West last week – including businesses and individuals from Greater Glasgow & The Clyde Valley, Ayrshire & Arran, Dumfries & Galloway and Argyll & Bute – and will now go on to the prestigious National Final on March 5, 2020.

Louisa Mahon, Renfrewshire Council’s Head of Communications, Marketing and Events, said: “We are delighted that the Paisley Halloween Festival has been recognised alongside the very best of the Scottish tourism industry at the Scottish Thistle Awards West Regional Final.

“The festival continues to grow larger and more creative each year – and is now regarded as one of the biggest and best events of its kind in the UK. It has also helped to raise Paisley’s profile and cement the town’s reputation as a place to come and see world class cultural events.

“We look forward to taking our place alongside all of the outstanding Regional Finals winners at the National Finals in March.”

Gordon Smith, VisitScotland Regional Director, said: “Congratulations to Renfrewshire Council on winning Best Cultural Event or Festival for Paisley Halloween Festival at the Scottish Thistle Awards regional finals. Taking over the streets of Paisley every Halloween, the Festival it has become one of the most hotly anticipated events in the region’s calendar, which this year welcomed record crowds and was supported by EventScotland’s National Events Fund. I wish the team the very best for the national finals in March.

“The Scottish Thistle Awards give businesses and individuals working within tourism in Scotland the opportunity to earn the recognition and appreciation they deserve from their own industry peers. They celebrate those people and businesses throughout the country responsible for offering the warmest of welcomes that Scotland is famous for.”

The Scottish Thistle Award marks a double celebration for the Paisley Halloween Festival after it won Best Festival or Outdoor Event at the EventIt E Awards in June.

The Paisley Halloween Festival is organised by Renfrewshire Council and the 2018 event was supported by the Year of Young People 2018 event fund managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.

This year’s festival, which took place on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 October 2019, continued to grow with a Dark Circus theme delivered alongside internationally-acclaimed outdoor theatre specialists, Cirque Bijou, and saw the entire town centre transformed into a thrilling Halloween playground.

For more information on the Scottish Thistle Awards, visit: https://www.scottishthistleawards.co.uk/

Plans to turn Paisley Museum into a world-class destination have taken a step forward after planning permission was granted.

The Category A-listed Victorian building is being transformed into a leading European museum telling the unique stories of a town known around the world for its famous Pattern.

Members of Renfrewshire Council’s Communities, Housing and Planning Board gave the green light to planning permission for an extension and external alterations plus listed building consent – meaning work can start next year.

The reimagined museum is expected to draw audiences of 125,000 people a year – almost four times current numbers – from Scotland, the UK and abroad when it reopens in 2022.

The designs produced by AL_A – led by Stirling Prize winner Amanda Levete – include:

•  a fully-accessible entrance courtyard and dramatic red glazed entrance hall, creating a dynamic and inviting presence on the High Street and a contemporary face for the museum;
• a new wing to the west of the existing building providing step-free access through the museum to the Coats Observatory (the oldest public observatory in Scotland);
• an attractive outdoor garden, creating a new public space for the town, and opening up previously-hidden views of the observatory while reconnecting it and the museum to the town’s High Street;
• internal renovations to improve accessibility and circulation and extend the museum into the space formerly occupied by Paisley Central Library, allowing the museum to more than double the number of objects on display to 1,200;
• an interactive weaving studio keeping alive the town’s traditional textile skills;

The Paisley Museum Reimagined scheme is the flagship project within Renfrewshire Council’s £100m investment in cultural venues and outdoor spaces – designed to use the town’s internationally-significant cultural and heritage story to change its future.

The project is expected to create a £79m boost for the local economy over 30 years, with 138 jobs supported during construction, and 48.5 jobs per year through revenue and visitor spending.

It already includes Round One funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with funding confirmed from the Scottish Government, and their Regeneration Capital Grant Fund.

Paisley Museum Reimagined Ltd has been set up as a new fundraising company to oversee the project’s fundraising strategy and capital appeal.

The project is being co-designed in partnership with the community – the project team have already worked with hundreds of local people and groups to capture and help tell their stories.

Renfrewshire’s collections are among the best in Scotland and include the world’s largest collection of Paisley shawls and pattern books, artwork from the world-renowned Glasgow Boys, one of Scotland’s best collections of studio ceramics, and a unique offering of mediaeval manuscripts dating back to before the Reformation.

The museum transformation is the flagship project within Renfrewshire Council’s £100m investment in venues and outdoor spaces aimed at using Paisley’s unique and internationally-significant cultural and heritage story to transform the area’s future.

Other current investments in Paisley include turning the town’s Victorian Town Hall into a landmark entertainment venue to preserve its place at the heart of life in the town, a new learning and cultural hub offering library services in a formerly-vacant retail unit on the town’s High St, and an extension and upgrade to the town’s Arts Centre.

The first images showing how Paisley’s iconic arts centre will look after a £2.8m transformation have been revealed – including a new extension and public space at the heart of Paisley’s nightlife district.

The Paisley Arts Centre stage has hosted some of Scotland’s biggest names in the three decades since the 250-year-old former church building was converted into one of the country’s most vibrant small entertainment venues.

The building is being upgraded as part of a wider investment in Paisley’s venues and outdoor spaces aimed at using the town’s internationally-significant cultural and heritage story to change its future.

And plans have been submitted for the work, with images revealed today showing:

• a redesigned public space around the arts centre, removing railings and bringing the street to the building – creating a new outdoor area for events and for people to dwell;
• how the building’s location at the junction of New Street and Shuttle Street means it is perfectly placed to add new vibrancy to the surrounding already-busy nightlife area;
• a new-build extension to the existing entrance – creating more room to expand facilities inside – including an improved café-bar;
• improved auditorium with retractable seating offering a capacity of 150 (seated) and 200 (standing) and creating the flexibility to offer more events, bringing more footfall to the town;
• better audience and performance facilities – retaining the intimate atmosphere the building is known for but adding more comfortable seating with better legroom, improved sightlines, better sound and lighting, upgraded toilets, and better disabled access and facilities.

There will also be new back-of-house facilities expanding what the building can do and making it more attractive to performers – including a new kitchen, improved dressing rooms, and workshop space for rehearsals and other events.

The arts centre is due to close in summer 2020 to allow the transformation to take place, and is expected to reopen in summer 2021.

The venue is home to a year-round performance programme and last week hosted several events as part of Paisley’s Spree festival, and will be packed out again for the ever-popular PACE Youth Theatre panto this festive period.

While the arts centre had a number of improvements to the outside of the building in 2012 the facilities inside had become outdated and needed more than a makeover to change that – but the planned work will create 21^st-century facilities inside the historic building.

The project is being taken forward by Renfrewshire Council and the venue will continue to be operated by Renfrewshire Leisure Ltd.

Local writer Claire Casey writes about the tragic tale of Marjorie Bruce – daughter of the famous King Robert the Bruce, hero of Scotland’s Wars of Independence.

Another legend that has become associated with Paisley Abbey is the death of Princess Marjorie Bruce, who was the daughter of Robert the Bruce.

In around the time of 1315, after her long imprisonment by the English, she had married Walter the Steward, the High Steward of Scotland and a descendent of Fitz Alan, the monastery’s founder. As the legend goes, while she was heavily pregnant Marjorie had been out riding along what is now Renfrew Road.

For some reason, her horse had spooked and had thrown her to the ground. This fall is said to have caused Marjorie a fatal injury. The story continues that she was rushed to the infirmary at the monastery, where the monks saved the baby. It has been claimed that they achieved that through the first ever caesarean section to be carried out in Scotland. Even though they were supposedly able to save the baby, the monks were unable to save Marjorie and she died not long after the birth of her son, Robert Stewart.

In the legend, it has been claimed that during the caesarean, the skin to the side of the baby’s eye was nicked by the knife that had been used to carry out the crude operation. It was this cut that some believe lead to Robert’s eye being permanently disfiguring.

After David II had died without issue, Robert Stewart, the son of Marjory Bruce, went on to become the first Scottish king of the Stewart dynasty. The story of his birth has been commemorated with a cairn, which stands on the Renfrew Road, close to the Abbotsinch Retail Park.

The cairn had replaced a pillar that may have commemorated a victory against the army of Somerland in 1164. The pillar mistakenly became known as Queen Bleary’s cross, which leads to the belief that was where Marjorie had fallen, rather than it being the marker of a battlefield. It has also been suggested by Sylvia Clark that the cairn that stands on Renfrew Road, and which is meant to mark the spot where Marjory fell, owes more to local myth making than to actual history. Therefore, it has nothing to do with Marjory’s death.

Despite this memorial to Marjory, the story of her death and the birth of Robert II within the monastery’s infirmary have been called into question in recent years. It has been suggested that it seems more likely that Marjorie died while giving birth in the Stewart Castle in Renfrew, rather than in Paisley’s monastic infirmary.

Within the Abbey, there is a feature that is commonly known as Princess Marjory’s Tomb. It can be found in the Abbey’s choir. It has been constructed out of ornate, carved stone and is topped with a stone effigy of a young woman. In recent years, it has been proven to be nothing more than a memorial at best. It seems that one of the Abbey’s former ministers had managed to construct this so-called tomb with some of the remaining fragments of the Abbey’s rude screen, which he used to form the tomb’s base.

It is believed that the effigy that sites on top of the tomb was taken from a burial within the graveyard that surrounded the Abbey. Therefore, the figure that forms the effigy has nothing to do with Marjorie but is instead the memorial of a nameless woman who had been interned somewhere in the Abbey’s grounds. At one point, the tomb itself was opened and found to contain no human remains, proving beyond all doubt that it is not a tomb.

Even though doubt has been cast on Marjory dying in childbirth within the walls of Paisley’s abbey, there is a grain of true in the story. It is known that Robert II did seem to have something wrong with one of his eyes, but the actual causes for what was wrong with his eye have remained unclear. It is possible that the eye deformity that he suffered from may have been sustained through a war injury, or through some sort of eye infection.

Even though Marjorie may not have died within the walls of the monastery’s infirmary, it is known that some of the High Stewards were buried within the grounds of the monastery. It has been suggested that they were buried within the vault of the Infirmary Chapel, a theory that is based on the intriguing comments made by a Bishop Pococke when he visited the Abbey in 1760.

The first images have been revealed showing how Paisley Museum will become a world-class destination showcasing the stories of a Scottish town whose influence reached around the globe.

The museum is undergoing a £42m transformation into a leading European museum telling the stories of Paisley’s people and Pattern, and home to its internationally-significant collections.

When it reopens, the reimagined museum is expected to draw audiences from Scotland, the UK and abroad – almost quadrupling visitor numbers to 125,000 a year.

These images show how international architects AL_A – led by Stirling Prize winner Amanda Levete – plan to restore and reinvigorate the museum, including:

– fully accessible entrance courtyard and a dramatic red glazed entrance hall, creating a dynamic and inviting presence on the High Street and a contemporary face for the museum;

– a new wing to the west of the existing building providing step-free access through the museum up to the Coats Observatory (the oldest public observatory in Scotland), containing learning spaces and with views onto the new museum garden;

– an attractive outdoor garden, creating a new public space for the town, and opening up previously-hidden views of the observatory while reconnecting it and the museum to the town’s High Street;

– internal renovations will improve accessibility and circulation, deliver international environmental standards for gallery spaces, and allow the museum to more than double the number of objects on display to 1,200;

– an interactive weaving studio keeping alive the town’s traditional textile skills;

The renovated museum and library buildings will be in conversation with the new. Together they create a cohesive museum campus and a visitor experience of international quality.

The project is expected to create a £79m boost for the local economy over 30 years, with 138 jobs supported during construction, and 48.5 jobs per year through revenue and visitor spending.