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Prior to the industrial revolution, there were few mansions. In the 17th century there was possibly only the one, Arthurlie House, in Springhill, owned by the Polloks of Arthurlie. After several generations and the lack of a male heir, the lands of Arthurlie came into the possession of Gavin Ralston of that ilk, through marriage. Later the lands were obtained by Henry Dunlop in 1808. Ten years later he demolished the old house and built a new mansion. Two generations later, through lack of an heir, the whole estate was put up for sale, the ground became council houses, and the mansion was converted to the current community centre.

Allan Pollok of Arthurlie appears in the 1695 Poll Tax; his 2nd son, Thomas, had built South Arthurlie House in 1735. Later in 1842 it became the home of Zechariah, the founder of the Heys dynasty calico printers at South Arthurlie Printworks.

Nether Arthurlie House was built for the Lowndes family who were silk manufacturers. Later owners were Henry Dunlop, Lord Provost of Glasgow, then it was owned by
George Heys, of South Arthurlie Printworks and son of Zechariah. The next owner was Andrew F. Shanks of the sanitaryware company. The house is presently ‘St Mary’s Convent’.

The expansion of the calico printing at South Arthurlie enabled the sons and grandsons of Zechariah Heys to take over or have built mansions for themselves: -

Woodside House, a 26-room mansion in Springhill, built for John Heys and his family. Demolished in the early 1960s

Stonehouse was built for Zechariah John Heys son of John above, who later became the 2nd Provost of Barrhead in 1896 and died in office in1902. His mansion was
gifted to the council who turned it into the main council chambers and is still used by the current authorities.

Sunnyside House, first married home of Henry Heys in 1848. The house was demolished after a number of owners, in the 1960s and replaced with council houses.

Springfield House became the later mansion of Henry Heys until the early 1900s. The house still exists and is privately owned.

Rockmount, in Springhill, was built for Zechariah Henry Heys, son of Henry and is still a private house.

Springhill House, built for Gavin Ralston in 1775, was later in use by George Heys and then his son Zechariah George Heys took it over.

Rockwood House in Hillside/Gateside area was the home of Andrew F. Shanks in 1891

Chappell House, built for the Graham family of Fereneze. They were early developers of bleachfields and the lands around the house were named after the family. A notable feature is the stone greyhounds on the roof of the stable area. The Grahams favourite sport was hare coursing! In ancient times much of the ground in this neighbourhood belonged to the abbey of Paisley and the name 'Chappell' comes from a 'Chapel of Fernun' which was located at a spot near the present house where there was also a holy
well named St Convals Well. A well has been uncovered on the property.

Trees House has been the residence of industrialists but has ended up as clubhouse of Fereneze Golf Club

Carlibar House, originally belonging to James Dunlop and Sons, who owned a number of cotton mills including Levern and Gateside. The house was eventually sold to
farmer Robert Glen and his wife Margaret Pollock Glen in 1871; unfortunately Robert Glen died before they could move in and sadly Margaret Glen lived there on her own for almost 50 years. Later she inherited a vast fortune from her uncle who owned mills in St Petersburg. She used the money for many charities in the town including building a district nurses home in Arthurlie Street, the Glen Halls in Neilston, the gold chain for the provost of Barrhead, and many other causes. After she died in 1911, her relative
Major Pollock, the Bisley shooting champion, stayed there. After his death the house was acquired by the local council and converted to a community centre until its
demolition. A new community centre was built on the same site and still serves the local people.