William Quarrier felt that he could do more to help the children sleeping rough on the streets of Glasgow.
In 1871 he opened a night refuge in Renfrew Street in Glasgow and then with money donated from all over Britain he built cottage homes in a village setting in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire.
By the early 1890s there were 34 cottages, a school, a church, farms and a fire station within Quarriers Village with over 800 children living there.
At it's height, Quarriers Village accommodated 1500 children at a time. In all, more than 30,000 children passed through Quarriers Village. Over 7000 migrated to Canada or Australia, and others were prepared for life in the merchant navy or learned a trade.
