849
Alexander Speirs of Elderslie in 1775, and it now belongs to his son, Archibald
Speirs of Elderslie. The parish church was built in 1762, and is ornamented
with a sightly spire and useful clock. It stands at the village of Neilston,
which has four annual fairs, and contained 472 inhabitants in 1791, and about
800 in 1821. This parish contains a number of manufacturing villages, by which
the population has been increased from 1299 in 1755, to 2330 in 1791, and to
6549 in 1821. [The parish church has 771 communicants ; stipend, £510. A
quoad sacra church at Barrhead has 790 communicants. Two Free churches
have 812, and one U.P. church has 404 members. There are also Roman
Catholic and Evangelical Union churches at Barrhead].
14. The parish of EASTWOOD was anciently called Polloc or Pollok, and this
name was derived from the Celtic Pol, signifying a pool in a river or rivulet;
and in a secondary sense a rivulet which stagnates into pools. In this last
sense the term appears frequently in the topography of Scotland. The church
of Pollok was dedicated to St. Conval, who was one of the disciples of St.
Kentigern, and is said to have died about 612 A.D., on the 18th of May, on which
day he was commemorated as a saint (t). The church of Pollok, with all its
pertinents, was grunted to the monastery of Paisley by Peter of Pollok, the son
of Fulbert, who held the lands of Pollok under Walter the first Stewart (u),
This church was confirmed to the monastery of Paisley by Jocelin the bishop of
Glasgow, and by several of his successors in that see, and also by several of the
popes (x). It continued to belong to the monastery of Paisley till the Reforma-
tion. The monks enjoyed the rectorial tithes and revenues, and the cure was
served by a vicar (?/). In the fourteenth century the name of the church and
parish was changed from Pollok to Estwode, the modern form of which is East-
(t) St. Conval is said to have founded a religious establishment at Inchinnan in Renfrewshire,
where he preached the Gospel, and where he died and was buried. Abacuk Byset's MS., fo. 100. It
was probably at Pollok rather than Inchinnan that Conval founded his establishment, as the church of
Pollok was dedicated to him, and he was the tutelar saint of the place. An annual fair was held at
Pollok on the 18th of May, the festival of the saint, and this fair is now held at Pollokshaws on the
last Friday of May, new style.
(u) Chart. Paisley, No. 54, 55. The territory of Pollok was granted by David I. to Walter the son
of Alan, the first Stewart. In the reign of Alexander II., Robert of Pollok the son of Robert, granted
in alms to the monastery of Paisley 12 pennies yearly from the rents of his lands of Pollok.
Ib., 64.
(a) Ib., 56, 90-93, 98, 149. The lands of Aldhouse belonged to St. Convall's church of Pollok in
the 13th century. Ib., 104-106. It was deprived of these lands after the Reformation.
(y) In 1227 it was settled that the vicar of Pollok should have the altarage and two chalders of
meal, with five acres of land near to the church ; the rest of the church lands were enjoyed by the
monks. Ib., 356. A permanent vicarage was afterwards established, whereby the vicar had a right
to the vicarage tithes and duties. In Bagimont's Roll the vicarage of "Eistwode" was taxed £2 13s.
4d., being a tenth of the estimated value of its spiritual revenues.