Paisley Philosophical Institution

08/10/2026

Thanks to Dr Robert Crammond for his interesting talk on Entrepreneurship and Machiavellanism to open our session. It stimulated a good q&a session at the end.

30/09/2026

We are now on Instagram. Find us .philosophical1808

16/09/2026

An old seal of the Institution has been found and is back where it belongs. See more at

Some time in 2025, I stumbled across an auction catalogue from 2023. The Institution's seal had been offered for sale as Lot 67. The auctioneer's Web site didn't list a sale price, so I surmised it had failed to meet its...

01/09/2026

We have been busy preparing our programme for the next session, which will run from October to March. Details will shortly be shown on our website and social media platforms.

01/07/2026

our temporary booking website is theurbanhistorian.uk

08/03/2026

Our next talk will take place on Wednesday 18 March 2026 @ 5.30 in Room D1333, UWS Paisley.
The speaker will be King Omeihe, UWS on Formal and Informal Institutions in Economic Development: Trust, Resistance and Context. This event is free to attend. More details at https://paisleyphilosophical.org/upcoming-talks.

19/02/2026

Our next talk will take place on Wednesday 4 March 2026 @ 5.30 in Room D1333, UWS Paisley.
The speaker will be Donald Linn on Glasgow Geohazards. This event is free to attend. More details are here.

This talk will explore the forthcoming work of Heritage Buddies, a Renfrewshire Council–funded project dedicated to investigating the gravey...

03/02/2026

Coming up in the 18th February 2026 - 17:30-19:30 Room D133, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley.

Paisley's Historic Graveyards: Past, Present & Future
A Talk for Paisley Philosopical Institution. This talk will explore the forthcoming work of Heritage Buddies, a Renfrewshire Council–funded project dedicated to investigating the graveyards of the county through survey, genealogical research, and storytelling. We will examine how these graveyards can serve as valuable resources for heritage tourism today. By tracing the origins of Paisley’s graveyards and the churches connected to them, we aim to understand their role in society at the time they were established, how they are used today, and the potential they hold for future heritage development. The stories of the many Paisley Buddies laid to rest within these burial grounds reveal the true history of Paisley and Renfrewshire—its people, its past, and its innovations across the centuries.

https://paisleyphilosophical.org/upcoming-talks

29/01/2026

Our next talk will take place on Wednesday 4 February 2026 @5.30 in Room D1333, UWS Paisley. Admission free.
The speaker will be Sohail Ahmad: 'Neighbourhood Satisfaction in Asian Cities: Empirical Evidence from Delhi, Dhaka and Manila' More details

This talk will explore the forthcoming work of Heritage Buddies, a Renfrewshire Council–funded project dedicated to investigating the gravey...

01/12/2025

The Discovery Series of Talks

Between January and June 2026 we will be holding our talks in Paisley St George's Church on Causeyside Street on the last Tuesday of the month at 7pm except January when it will be on the last Monday.

The talks will soon be available for booking at https://theurbanhistorian.co.uk/book-an-event/

Our topics will be:

January 26th (Mon), The Christian Shaw Legacy

February 24th, Royal Renfrew

March 24th, Paisley Abbey: An Introduction

April 28th, Black Peter & the West Relief Kirk

May 26th, The Parish of Neilston: A history

June 30th, The early graveyards & churches of Renfrewshire