Foxbar Rifle Range

Foxbar Rifle Range was located near Paisley, to the west of Glasgow. Little remains of this rifle range, which lay in the fields near Foxbar.

The lower targets comprised a trench backed by a wall and a small shelter below the revetment. There was a standard mechanism for raising and lowering targets which maybe of World War II origin. The upper target was on a slightly different orientation to the lower one and a short distance further up the hill. Examination of old maps of the area show no record of the range on any of the 19th century editions but it does appear on a 1914 map and includes both targets. This suggests that the range was probably built before World War I.

Other features of the range included a corrugated iron hut adjacent to the 100 yard firing step. The hut was removed around the start of the 21st century. Firing steps at 100 yard intervals went all the way to a final one at 800 yards which was near to the road. On the other side of the road a Rangemaster's bungalow was built. The firing steps were offset so that no other firing step came between the target area and the step being used.

The longer ranges are believed to have been closed in the 1950s and the shorter range in 1966. It had latterly been used by the Territorial Army and the Cadets.

A SeSco member recalls that the range warden's house was based upon the design of an Indian bungalow complete with veranda, and the last range warden was Peter Straiton who moved out when the range closed c. 1966.

It was sad to see it go as I learnt to shoot the No4 Lee Enfield there as an ATC cadet.

Notes

During WW2 there was a dummy aerodrome on top of the Braes. It was illuminated at night to trick enemy aircraft into thinking this was a real airport, therefore having this bombed instead of a built-up area. There was also a red light on the Gleniffer Braes hillside, near the Foxbar Rifle Range, to warn country-dwellers of the approach of enemy planes.

The old village of Ferguslie was named after the indecisive battle in the Crimean War, fought on 5th November 1854. Many of the British soldiers who fought there were from the Paisley area. They trained at the Newton Woods, near Elderslie, where they had a rifle-range for shooting practice on a steep hillside close to what is now Foxbar.

The Newton Wood was a popular spot in the 18th and 19th century for rifle practice. The Renfrewshire Brigade of Volunteers would practice there in the late 1800s.

All from Happy Haggis Renfrewshire.

Site Visit

A site visit was carried out in June 2010. No trace was found of any of the firing steps and the corrugated iron shed associated with the range has been moved and the cladding removed, leaving only a steel skeleton. The lower target area has suffered much damage, apparently by the farmer, as the upper section of the brick and concrete revetment wall has been toppled into the target lifter trench and much infilling has taken place. The remains of two shelters, one at each end were found, with that to the west being much larger than that to the east, which may just have been used to house a chemical toilet. Substantial remains of eight target lifters were found.

The site of the upper target area was identified by a flat area with a low bank above it. No signs of a deep revetted trench were found. Several areas above were barren, presumably poisoned by the lead in the bullets.