In the first part of the book Marion Murray deals with the history of the Paisley Alms House. The first recorded poor house or hospital in the town was conceived by the Baillies and Magistrates in 1612. Although the Alms House closed in 1808 disbursements from its poor funds continued well into the 1900s. Marion has extracted from the Town Council Minutes of Paisley over the period 1698 to 1823 all the references to the Alms House. There are both Name and Event Indexes; the name index covers approximately 400 names that are mentioned in the book. The publication is in A4 format and 70 pages.