Braehead
commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew
Braehead (Scots: Braeheid, Gaelic: Ceann a' Bhruthaich) is a commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrew, Renfrewshire. It is particularly notable for its large shopping centre, arena and leisure facilities. All originally part of Intu, the facilities are currently owned by Frasers Group, TDL Media and XPE Group plc respectively.
The area is known for its shopping centre of the same name, which was rebranded as Intu Braehead in 2013 and kept that name until 2020. The rebranding was done as part of a corporate rebranding exercise by Capital Shopping Centres plc, which itself was renamed as Intu Properties PLC.
History
King's Inch
Until at least the 18th century, the site was an island in the River Clyde known as King's Inch (a name that is still reflected in the road that divides the site).
The initial castle at Renfrew was constructed on King's Inch in the 12th century by Walter Fitz-Alan, High Steward of Scotland.however It was deserted in the 13th century and substituted by a stone castle in what currently stands as the centre of Renfrew. By the latter portion of the 15th century, Sir John Ross was obtained the lands of Inch along with the remains of this castle, where he erected a three-storey castle known as the Inch Castle.
In 1769, the King's Inch was purchased by Glasgow tobacco merchant Alexander Speirs, who demolished Inch Castle in order to build a country mansion, Elderslie House. Completed in 1782 (demolished in 1924), Elderslie House was designed by Robert Adam.
Braehead power station
The power station was built after World War II, originally coal-fired but later converted to oil to reduce emissions.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Braehead” as commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15204126. Authority coordinates are 55.876, -4.365. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2013, 2020, 1769 and 1782.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Braehead”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Braehead primary sources, Braehead archive and Braehead research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Braehead” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.