Howwood
{{Short description|Village in Renfrewshire, Scotland}}
{{For|the village in Hertfordshire, England|How Wood}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = Scotland
| official_name = Howwood
| gaelic_name = Coille an Dail
| scots_name = The Howewuid
| os_grid_reference = NS397602
| map_type = Scotland
| coordinates = {{coord|55.809|-4.558|display=inline,title}}
| population = {{Scottish locality populations|name|POP=Howwood}}
| population_ref = ({{United Kingdom statistics year|ScotSettlement}}){{Scotland settlement population citation}}| unitary_scotland = Renfrewshire
| lieutenancy_scotland = Renfrewshire
| post_town = JOHNSTONE
| postcode_district = PA9
| postcode_area = PA
| dial_code = 01505
| constituency_westminster = Paisley and Renfrewshire South
| constituency_scottish_parliament = Renfrewshire South
}}
Howwood ({{langx|sco|The Howewuid}},{{Cite web |url=http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/read.asp?letter=t&CurPage=18 |title=The Online Scots Dictionary |access-date=8 March 2013 |archive-date=24 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224205215/http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/read.asp?letter=t&CurPage=18 |url-status=dead }} {{langx|gd|Coille an Dail}})[http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php/component/content/article/2999-list-of-railway-station-names.html List of railway station names in English, Scots and Gaelic – NewsNetScotland] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122064223/http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php/component/content/article/2999-list-of-railway-station-names.html |date=2013-01-22 }} 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
File:Howwood, Renfrewshire.jpg
Its name is listed in the late 19th century Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland as "Howwood or Hollow-wood".[http://www.electricscotland.com/history/gazetteer/vol3page271.htm 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] Hollow-Wood is an anglicisation of the Scots language name Howewuid. 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.{{cite web | url=https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Howood | title=Surname Database: Howood Last Name Origin }}
Historically part of the civil parish of Lochwinnoch, it now supports its own Community Council.[http://www.howwood.com/ Howwood Community Council]
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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ilwwcm/publishing.nsf/Content/Navigation-els-Howwood(OurHistoryandHeritage)Homepage |title=Renfrewshire Community Website - Howwood |access-date=9 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318140104/http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ilwwcm/publishing.nsf/Content/Navigation-els-Howwood%28OurHistoryandHeritage%29Homepage |archive-date=18 March 2009 |url-status=dead }}
Overlooking the village on Kenmure Hill is the Temple, a circular folly built around 1760 and whose purpose is unknown.{{cite web| url = http://www.howwood.com/history.php| title = Howwood Village Renfrewshire Scotland Community Website}} In the hills above Howwood also lie the remains of Elliston Castle, a tower house once home to the Semple family. A battle took place between Government forces and Covenanters at Muirdykes on the 18 June 1685, led by the Cochrane family of Johnstone The Iron Age hillfort of Walls Hill lies on Whittliemuir with the Walls Loch lying to the west of it.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Howwood}}
- [http://www.howwood.com/ Howwood village website]
{{Renfrewshire settlements}}
{{authority control}}