Volunteer
- Scheduled session wrere during November and early December 2025. We will be holding an event later in January 2026 for those who have volunteered to start work on the project, with practicle work starting after Easter.
We want the local communities to participate in the project. Two reseach groups will be established to:
Carry out archaeological based surveys of selected graveyards
- Carry out detailed recordings of the headstones and monuments including new full transcriptions and photography
- Research the history of the graveyard
- Research the family history of selected families that volunteers are drrawn to
In all cases voluteers will be be given training on how to carry out the project activities and access to specific websites for research purposes.
The resuts of the project will be presented on this website, and final publication will also detail the work of the project. The book and website will provide a free accessable resource to the local history and genealogy community for years to come.
If you want to volunteer, please complete the form at the bottom of this page. (it will be sent to us automatically).
Public Consultation
November / December 2025
Do graveyards provide a route in to the history of Renfrewshire? Can they play a part in a viable heritage tourism maket in Renfrewshire? We want your views!
The aims of the Consultation is to:
- Gather personal memories and stories about ancestors buried in Renfrewshire’s graveyards.
- Discuss ideas on how these historic sites could be preserved and promoted as heritage tourism assets.
- Provide opportunities for those interested to meet the project team and sign up as volunteers for the research groups.
Today, graveyards such as the Howff in Dundee or Greyfriars in Edinburgh attract numerous tourists. Visitors included those seeking their ancestors and others with a general interest in visting historic places. Why not in Paisley and Renfrewshire? Our smaller historic graveyards hold vast amounts of information on those buried, but this can be a stepping stone to discovering more about the local history of the area, though the people.
Voluntering Form
Please complete the form below to sign up as a volunteer. When submitted you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of the submitted information.