Piecing together homes from our

Even if you spent your schooldays staring out of the window, this school building may just be your perfect home. John Clark investigates It was a progressive idea at the time to take parentless and destitute children from the slums and large orphanages of the city and have them live a healthy life in a homely atmosphere in the countryside.

This was William Quarrier's vision, the founder of Quarrier's Village in Bridge of Weir.

He knew what it was like to be poor. His father, a ships' carpenter, had died of cholera in Quebec. His mother could not survive in Greenock and moved to the Trongate area of Glasgow.

William was apprenticed to a cobbler and was a trained journeyman by the age of 11. In time he became a successful businessman with several shoe shops in Glasgow. But he never forgot the days of his childhood when he went barefoot in the streets.

Today Quarrier's continues as a charity with its headquarters in the Renfrewshire village and carries on with its work across the country.

The Victorian village school which has lain empty for years is now being redeveloped by Noah property design and development of Whitecraigs, Glasgow. It is a joint development with Cala Homes which is building luxury villas on the former playing fields of the school.

Cala are building 16 four and five bedroom detached luxury villas which start in price from #197,000.

Noah has a reputation for restoring historic buildings with flair and imagination.

The blonde sandstone school building is being renovated and converted into 15 one, two and three-bedroom apartments and one contemporary three-bedroom townhouse.

All the apartments are designed over two levels in a variety of styles which preserve and complement the original design. The tasteful conversion has been designed by Glasgow architects McKeown and Alexander of Anderston Quay.

Paul Winocour, a director of Noah, said: "Most schools are quite functional but this has ornate stonework, chimney pots and tracery windows. There will be a glass atrium in the entrance hall and the original twin stairs give access to the first floor apartments."

The new-build townhouse will incorporate the school tower and will have its own private garden.

Prices for one-bedroom apartments will range from #65,000 to #75,000; two and three bedroom apartments from #95,000 to #120,000 and the townhouse will sell for #130,000.

Quarrier's original aim was to get away from the traditional large orphanage institutions and to have children living in groups of around 30 in cottages looked after by house-mothers and house- fathers.

More than 40 of these cottages were built by the end of the 19th century together with a church, school, stores, workshops, a farm and even a fire station.

In this way Quarrier's village, as it became known many years later, became a self-contained community. Over the years it was home to more than 30,000 disadvantaged children with as many as 1500 living in the village at its peak during the 1920s and 1930s.

Today the village remains essentially as it was in William Quarrier's day, a beautiful, peaceful, green oasis in the Renfrewshire countryside. The historic Victorian buildings are surrounded by trees, flowerbeds and lawns.

However child care attitudes and policy underwent dramatic changes in the 1970s and 1980s leading to a decline in the number of children cared for in the village.

The stone-built villas that were once the children's cottages have now been sold to private owners or divided into flats.

Tony Williams, director of fundraising and publicity for Quarrier's, welcomed the new use being found for the old school. "As far as the charity was concerned it was a millstone around our neck which we had to do something about. We were delighted that Cala and Noah became involved in the development of the school."

The agents for all enquiries are Cala Homes 01324 638889; and for Noah, contact Slater Hogg and Howison on 01505 690110

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