About

Our History

Following various developments over the years Langbank has become a thriving village of approximately 1,000 people. In addition to the Church of Scotland, local amenities include the primary school, railway station, community centre, health centre, restaurant, tennis court, bowling green, recently upgraded children’s play park off Middlepenny Road and the open space and football pitch in the centre of the village. The primary school is linked with Park Mains Secondary School.

The village of Langbank really only came into being in 1841 following the opening of the railway line from Glasgow to Greenock. What had been a few scattered farms covering the area of land between Houston Road and Station Road suddenly began to develop. The land immediately to the west—Middlepenny—was incorporated into Langbank village as prosperous businessmen came into the district. They were able to commute to work in the surrounding towns of Paisley, Glasgow and Greenock, building homes for their families throughout the 1850s. In 1861, Morningside Villa was first noted in the census of 1861. By 1864 an entire row of similar villas faced out to the river with others under construction behind the railway line.

By 1882, there was a post and telegraph office as well as two churches: The Church of Scotland (now converted into dwelling houses) and the United Presbyterian Church, which became known as the United Free Church on the Main Road. The two Langbank congregations merged in 1933 and used the Main Road church building which is used today for weekly worship and is Langbank Church of Scotland.

Roman Catholic services were formerly held at St Vincent’s Chapel, part of a complex located off Middlepenny Road and previously used as a seminary for boys in training for the priesthood. St Vincent’s Chapel and the surrounding land have since been converted to residential use.