It lies within the Gryffe Valley between the villages of Kilmacolm and Bridge of Weir, falling on the boundary between the modern Inverclyde and Renfrewshire council areas.

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.

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.

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.

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.