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What is now know as Quarriers Village was built as "the Orphan Homes of Scotland" by Greenock born shoe retailer and philanthropist William Quarrier Link in 1876. It occupies a large site amidst rolling countryside in the Gryffe Valley between Kilmacolm and Bridge of Weir.

The orphan home consisted of over 30 solidly built and attractive cottages, a school, a church and even had its own fire station. Many of these are now Listed buildings. Shortly after it opened, 800 orphans could be accommodated here, growing to 1500 at its peak in the 20th Century. Over 40,000 orphans were cared for here until the complex closed in the mid 1980s.

Following closure, the site was developed for housing, with the original buildings being retained and others built alongside. It is now formally known as Quarriers Village.

The village is still home to the headquarters of the Quarriers charity.

Further reading...

Quarriers charity home page: Link
Quarriers Charity history page: Link
Quarriers charity booklet "A self-guided walk of historical Quarriers Village": Link

William Quarrier also built the adjacent Bridge of Weir Hospital. This was a TB hospital, which opened in stages between 1894 and 1904.

As the need for a TB hospital declined, the hospital changed its speciality to caring for the elderly and the chronically sick. It operated into the 1990s and possibly the early 2000s.

The surviving hospital buildings include a chapel and they are Category B Listed Link . The buildings are now in residential use, with many new houses also having been built on the site.

Further reading about BoW Hospital: Link .