The
County of Renfrew is a small but populous
shire. Its
county town is
Renfrew, though Renfrew is far from the largest town, a prize which, outside the parts within the Glasgow conurbation, belongs to
Paisley.
The county lies on the south bank of the Clyde, stretching from the southern Glasgow suburbs to the coast opposite
Cowal. It is bounded to the north by the
River Clyde and on the north and the west by the Firth of Clyde. To the east of
Lanarkshire and to the south,
Ayrshire.
A small detached portion of the parish of Renfrew stands on the
northern bank of the Clyde, surrounded on the landward side by
Dumbartonshire.