Linwood, a village and a quoad sacra parish in Kilbarchan parish, Renfrewshire. The village stands on the left bank of Black Cart Water (here spanned by a one-arch bridge), 1½ mile NE of Johnstone, and 3½ miles W of Paisley, under which it has a post office, with money order, savings' bank, and telegraph departments. It arose from a large cotton-mill, built in 1792, burned down in 1802, and rebuilt in 1805; was laid out on a regular plan; is inhabited chiefly by the operatives of its cotton-mill, and by workers in neighbouring mines; acquired, in 1872, a water supply by pipes from the Paisley waterworks; and has an Established church, a public school, and a Roman Catholic chapel-school., The quoad sacra parish, constituted in 1880, is in the presbytery of Paisley and the synod of Glasgow and Ayr; its minister's stipend is £220. Pop. of village (1831) 910, (1861) 1514, (1871) 1250, (1881) 1393; of quoad sacra parish (1881) 2505.—Ord. Sur., sh. 30, 1866.

(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)