
Photograph by
Thomas Annan
Gallowhill House, a
large mansion designed in 1867 by the Glasgow
architects, James Salmon & Son, was the home of Peter
Kerr of Clark & Company, a firm of Paisley
threadmakers. It was situated near what is now
Priory Avenue close to the high flats.The
architectural photographer, Harry Bedford Lemere,
was commissioned to photograph the interior in
1890, his Gallowhill work can be seen here.
Before Kerr merged with
Clark, his company was known as Underwood Mill of Underwood Road. In 1799
Underwood mill bought the first James Watt steam
engine in Scotland. From this point onwards,
water power became less important, as
steam-powered cotton mills could be built on any
street corner .
Peter Kerr's daughter Elizabeth Anne married Sir Hugh Houston Smiley of Drumalis, Northern Ireland. He was
created 1st Baronet Smiley, of Drumalis, Larne, co.
Antrim and Gallowhill, Paisley, Renfrewshire
on 13 October 1903. The house then became
associated with the Smiley name.
Their grandson Sir Hugh
Houston Smiley married the glamorous Nancy Beaton, sister of the renowned
photographer Cecil Beaton who photographed the high
society of his day including Winston Churchill's official
portrait , the Queen's coronation and most of the major Hollywood
stars including Marilyn Monroe . The BBC made a documentary about him.
  
Gallowhill was offered to the War Office by Lady
Smiley to be used as a hospital for wounded
soldiers She also donated items to the British
Museum and funded the Hugh Smiley day nursery in Paisley which is still open
today. She died in 1999. The house was referred
to as an auxiliary hospital in 1919.
A NEW DAY NURSERY FOR
PAISLEY.
At a recent meeting of the Committee of the
Paisley Day Nursery, Lady Smiley expressed her
desire to have the privilege of building and
equipping a new day nursery free of charge in
memory of her late husband, Sir Hugh H. Smiley,
who was the originator of the nursery and took a
great interest in the welfare of the children.
She hoped the committee could at the same time
see their way to raising an endowment fund.

from Millar A H
(1889) The castles and mansions of Renfrewshire
and Buteshire
The modern mansion of Gallowhill stands in a
commanding position, a short distance to the
north-east of Paisley, and not far from the line
of railway betwixt Glasgow id Paisley. The estate
of Gallowhill has long been divided into two
portions, described respectively as Over and
Nether Gallowhill ; and both of these were
included in the tem-poral lordship conferred upon
Lord Claud Hamilton in 1587, when he was created
Baron Paisley. At his death in 1621, his
grandson, James, second Earl of Abercorn,
succeeded him, and was retoured in all his
possessions, including the lands of Over and
Nether Gallowhile. The estate afterwards passed
into the possession of the Dundonald family ; and
n the death of John, second Earl of Dundonald, in
169o, his son William, third Earl, as retoured as
heir of Gallowhill.
The place remained in the hands of the Cochranes
F Dundonald until the time of Thomas, sixth Earl
of Dundonald, who conferred Gallowhill upon his
daughter, Lady Catherine Cochrane, as a marriage
- portion. her husband, Captain William Wood, was
descended from the Fifeshire families r Wood of
Largo, Lundie of that Ilk, and Balfour of
Burleigh. His uncle, Robert Wood, was
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland; and his
father, William Wood, as factor for the Duke of
Hamilton. Captain Wood's eldest brother, John,
was long Governor of the Isle of Man. Lady
Catherine Cochrane died in I776, leaving an only
daughter, Anne, who was married to Captain Samuel
Rous Dottin, of the Dragoon ,uards.
Towards the close of last century the estate was
divided into its original por[)ns of Over and
Nether Gallowhill, and these passed into the
hands of several distinct proprietors. One of the
divisions was acquired by Mr. Thomas Clayton,
from England, id another became the property of
James Kibble of Whiteford, who was proprietor in
318. Since that time Gallowhill has had several
proprietors.
The late Mr. Peter Kerr, of Messrs. Clark &
Coy., Paisley, whose widow is the -present
proprietrix, purchased the estate from the
representatives of Mr. William Sim, . 1864, and
in 1867 built the mansion now standing. It is
built in the French Baronial style, from designs
by Messrs. James Salmon & Son, F.R.I!B.A.,
Glasgow, and it is one of the finest mansion
houses in the district.
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