William Quarrier

William Quarrier (29 September 1829 – 16 October 1903) was a shoe retailer and philanthropist from Glasgow, Scotland. He was founder of the Orphan Homes of Scotland in Renfrewshire, which later evolved into the social care charity Quarriers.

Life

Quarrier was born in Greenock on 29 September 1829, but moved to Glasgow aged three following the death of his father and spent most of his childhood in poverty. Reflecting on his charitable acts in 1872, he accredited his philanthropy largely to these experiences:

"When a little boy, I stood in the High Street of Glasgow, barefoot, bareheaded, cold and hungry, having tasted no food for a day and a half, and, as I gazed at each passer-by, wondering why they did not help such as I, a thought passed through my mind that I would not do as they when I would get the means to help others"

At 17 he began work as a shoemaker after training as an apprentice. At this stage, he became a devout Christian. Quarrier attended Blackfriars Street Church and later Adelaide Place Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon. He soon owned a chain of shops and married Isabella Hunter, the daughter of his first employer. Quarrier fathered four children: Isabella, Agnes, Frank and Mary Quarrier.

Charitable work

Quarrier is best known for his charitable work. In 1871 he opened a night refuge for homeless children in Renfrew Street, Glasgow.

Then in 1876, using charitable donations, mainly from his rich friend Arthur Francis Stoddard owner of Stoddard Carpets International Quarrier began to build the Orphan Homes of Scotland on a piece of land now in Inverclyde and between the villages of Kilmacolm and Bridge of Weir, falling within the civil parish of the former. The first block was called Broadfield after Stoddard's estate in Port Glasgow.