The village was founded as the Orphan Homes of Scotland in 1876 by Glasgow shoe-maker and philanthropist William Quarrier on the site of the former Nittingshill Farm. Quarrier had a vision of a community allowing the young people in his care to thrive, set in a countryside environment and housed in a number of grand residences under a house-mother and father. This vision was realised by a number of donations from Quarrier and his friends. A devout Christian, Quarrier's homes also had a distinct religious ethos. He commissioned the building of Mount Zion Church - known informally as the Children's Cathedral - and his values are also reflected in the naming of streets in the village, such as Faith Avenue, Hope Avenue, Love Avenue, Praise Avenue and Peace Avenue. In 2006, Mount Zion Church decided it could no longer justify such a large premises and moved to one of the nearby homes. The church itself has been converted into private dwellings after the initial rejection of planning permission by the local authority was successfully appealed by the developer to the Scottish Ministers. Until 1999, it was also the site of the Bridge of Weir Hospital, opened as a tuberculosissanatorium. The main section of the hospital has now been converted into residential flats. Hunter House, also commissioned by Quarrier and completed three years after his death, served as Scotland's only residential epilepsy assessment centre until the facility moved to The William Quarrier Scottish Epilepsy Centre, which opened in Glasgow in 2013. Quarriers is a registered charity and still functions to help disadvantaged young people, carers and adults with disabilities in the United Kingdom and beyond. However, due to the changing nature of childcare, the number of children being cared for in the village fell dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s, and most of the homes were sold off privately. The village now attracts a number of tourists and offers a coffee shop. Greenock Morton Football Club train in the village.
Geography
Quarrier's Village lies within the moorland of the Gryffe Valley immediately south of the River Gryffe. The settlement is bisected by the Gotter Water, a tributary of the Gryffe, with the majority of the village standing on its north bank. A number of both vehicle and footbridges cross the Gotter Water within the village whilst the Gryffe is crossed by a road bridge, Craigends Bridge, at the edge of the settlement, and a two pedestrian bridges. One of these footbridges over the Gryffe links the community with the Forth to Clyde cycle route, which was formerly the line of the Greenock and Ayrshire Railway.
Architecture
Each of the residential houses built in Quarrier's Village were to an individual design, with donors having a large influence in the style in which their cottages were cast, and also the buildings' names. As such, the village is an unusual mix of Gothic, French, Old English, Scottish baronial and Italian. The overall plan of the village is of a more English style than is typical in the area, with a parkland and village green-type layout. Only three houses in the village can be directly traced to traditional Scottish architecture. Despite this mix of styles, one architect is responsible for virtually the entire old village: Robert Bryden of the Clarke and Bell firm in Glasgow. Bryden worked free of charge on Quarrier's projects over a course of some twenty-eight years.
Local government
Quarrier's Village is part of the civil parish of Kilmacolm and continues to be associated with it for the purposes of local government. The represents its interests to the local authority, Inverclyde Council. For local government electoral purposes, Kilmacolm and Quarrier's Village both form part of the Inverclyde East electoral ward. There is also a residents' association for the village, the Quarrier's Village Council.
