Roll back the years—the hundreds of years—back even eight centuries to the birth of the Houston clan. Picture a stately knight in coat-of-mail as he reins his spirited horse atop a gentle hill in the Lowlands of Scotland. His trio of helmeted vassals, armed with lances, draw up at his side. The knight gazes long and intently over endless stretches of moor and fen and his stern face lights with a sense of pride and satisfaction. He murmurs, half to himself, "This is my realm—on this spot I shall build my castle!"

Hugh of Padina, knightly forefather of all the Houstons, was a somewhat legendary figure. Documented records of the ancient baron who took over the lands of Kilpeter in the reign of Maclom IV (1153-1165) are quite fragmentary. Hence one can only visualize against the background of the times, the place and the circumstances the arrival of Sir Hugh to possess his new estate. lie came from the parish of Padinan, at the opposite side of Lanarkshire, eastward from Kilpeter, which was in the westward reaches of the shire. From the name of his old parish he derived his name as it appears in public records — Hugh de Padinan, meaning in English, Hugh of Padinan.

From atop the sloping hill, Sir Hugh could look out over the rolling valley of the Gryffe River and trace the winding stream till it joined the more distant Clyde which flowed out to the sea. Westward were the foothills of the Scottish Uplands and to the east plains as far as the eye could see in the direction of the towns of Paisley and Glasgow.

The new laird could observe few signs of habitation, possibly a few half-wild, long-haired cattle and a small flock of 6