shops and the village's Post Office. North Street and South Street are dominated by traditional white cottages, some dating to the 17th century. The old village was a planned community of houses largely built around the Houston Burn, which gave communal access to washing facilities. Some remains of the 16th century Houston Castle still exist largely in the grounds of the current Houston House. The area sits beside Houston and Killellan Kirk, the established (Church of Scotland) parish church. It is possible that Lord Darnley, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots resided at the castle for some years. The Barochan Cross, an 11 ft (3.4 metre) tall Celtic Christian cross possibly dating to the 8th century, formerly lay just south of the Mill of Barochan in the parish. In the 19th century, it was moved to a knoll opposite Corsliehill closer to the village before finally being moved in the 20th century to Paisley Abbey where it now remains in order to protect it from further weathering. The Craigends Yew is an ancient yew tree in the parish, supposed to be the oldest living thing in Renfrewshire, with a potential age of around a thousand years. There are two ancient wells in Houston, once considered to have healing powers. St Fillan's Well sits in the fields beside Kilallan Kirk and St Peter's Well that also gives its name to a locally brewed ale. The parish church, which is a congregation of the Church of Scotland, lies to the east of the old village. A 19th century Roman Catholic church, St Fillan's, is to the south of Main Street. Religion Houston's has a long association with St Peter, providing the village's historic name of Kilpeter. Its current parish church, Houston and Killellan Church or Kirk, lies in the grounds of Houston House. The Kirk was constructed in the 1870s, replacing a church on the same site constructed in 1775, and dedicated to Archibald Alexander Speirs of Elderslie. Following his death aged 28 while sitting as Member of Parliament for West Renfrewshire, his mother provided the building costs as a memorial. The current parish dates from 1771, when the parishes of Houston and Killellan were united. The former parish church in the nearby hamlet of Killellan was known as the Church of St Fillan, which the name of the settlement derives. The former church building was left redundant by the unification and