meaning of which is obscure. Was the stone salvaged from some other part of the castle which was torn down and placed over a new doorway that was cut through the thick walls? History on this point remains silent.

The present-day village of Houston dates from the late 1700’s and stands higher up than Old Houston. A relic of the earlier days, however, is the fine old Cross of Houston. This is a pillar nine feet tall, in a four-stepped pedestal, surrounded by a sundial and a globe. The dial is 200 years old and the pillar much older, according to local historians.

Nearby are the ruins of old St. Fillan’s Church, named for St. Fillan from Ulster, who settled in Kilallan parish and died in 1749. But the ancient St. Fillan’s Well has long since been filled in. The water of the well was supposed to have magic properties and women from a wide area brought their children there for the mystic cures. Seemingly the cures became associated with witchcraft for in 1697, we are told, six witches were burned at the Gallowgreen in nearby Paisley for their activities around the well. The Houstoun baron of that day sat as one of the judges.