Saltcoats

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Saltcoats
Town
Normal White Horses, Saltcoats.jpg
Seafront and part of the Saltcoats skyline, 2013
North Ayrshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Saltcoats
Location within North Ayrshire
Population12,250 (mid-2020 est.) [1]
•  Density 3,489/sq km
OS grid reference NS245415
•  Edinburgh 77.6 mi (124.9 km)
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SALTCOATS
Postcode district KA21
Dialling code 01294
Police Scotland
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°38′07″N4°47′23″W / 55.6352°N 04.7896°W / 55.6352; -04.7896 Coordinates: 55°38′07″N4°47′23″W / 55.6352°N 04.7896°W / 55.6352; -04.7896

Saltcoats (Scottish Gaelic : Baile an t-Salainn) is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages along the shore. It is part of the 'Three Towns' conurbation along with Ardrossan and Stevenston and is the third largest town in North Ayrshire.

Contents

History

Saltcoats Town Hall Saltcoats Town Hall (geograph 6011840).jpg
Saltcoats Town Hall

In the late eighteenth century, several shipyards operated at Saltcoats, producing some sixty to seventy ships. The leading shipbuilder was William Ritchie, but in 1790 he moved his business to Belfast. By the early nineteenth century, the town had stopped producing ships. Saltcoats Town Hall, which dates back to 1826, is a Category B listed building. [2]

In 2018, a statue to commemorate the popular football Bobby Lennox, from the town, was constructed across from the main station.

Governance

Saltcoats is part of the North Ayrshire and Arran constituency in the House of Commons and Cunninghame North constituency in the devolved Scottish Parliament. Both seats are held by the Scottish National Party.

Historically, Ardrossan has been part of the UK parliament constituencies North Ayrshire (1868–1918), Bute and Northern Ayrshire (1918–1983) and Cunninghame North (1983–2005). These constituencies historically returned Conservative or Unionist MPs until 1987, when the constituency was won by the Labour Party.

Transport

The harbour was designed by James Jardine in 1811, however no cargo or passenger services run from the harbour any more. [3]

Saltcoats is served by regular bus and railway services. Primary bus services are provided by Stagecoach West Scotland, while rail services are operated by ScotRail. These rail services are frequent and serve nearby Glasgow, as well as Largs, Ardrossan and Kilwinning.

Although Saltcoats currently only has a single railway station, the town was once served by a second railway station located in the north of the town, originally as part of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway. This station ceased regular passenger services on 4 July 1932, [4] and there is no trace of the station today bar a nearby bridge.

Notable people

Related Research Articles

Ayrshire Historic county in Scotland

Ayrshire is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south. Like many other counties of Scotland it currently has no administrative function, instead being sub-divided into the council areas of North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire. It has a population of approximately 366,800.

North Ayrshire Council area of Scotland

North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland.

Cunninghame Area of Scotland, comprising the northern part of Ayrshire

Cunninghame is a former comital district of Scotland and also a district of the Strathclyde Region from 1975 to 1996.

Campbell Martin

Campbell Martin is a Scottish journalist and politician.

Ardrossan Town in Scotland

Ardrossan is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore of the Firth of Clyde.

Stevenston Town in Scotland

Stevenston is a town and parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats it is one of the "Three Towns", all of similar size, on the east coast of the Firth of Clyde; the easternmost parts of Stevenston are about 1⁄2 mile from western parts of Kilwinning, with the A78 trunk road running between the settlements.

North Ayrshire and Arran (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2005 onwards

North Ayrshire and Arran is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in the south-west of Scotland within the North Ayrshire council area. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post voting system of voting.

Stevenston railway station Railway station in North Ayrshire, Scotland

Stevenston railway station is a railway station serving the town of Stevenston, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is owned by Network Rail. It's on the Ayrshire Coast Line, 29 miles (47 km) south west of Glasgow Central.

Saltcoats railway station Railway station in North Ayrshire, Scotland

Saltcoats railway station is a railway station serving the town of Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line.

Ardrossan South Beach railway station Railway station in North Ayrshire, Scotland

Ardrossan South Beach railway station is one of three in the town of Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line.

Ardrossan Harbour railway station Railway station in North Ayrshire, Scotland

Ardrossan Harbour railway station is one of three remaining railway stations in the town of Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is owned by Network Rail. It's on the Ayrshire Coast Line, 32.5 miles (52.3 km) south west of Glasgow Central. The station is an interchange for Caledonian MacBrayne ferry sailings to Brodick on the Isle of Arran.

Cunninghame North (Scottish Parliament constituency) Region or constituency of the Scottish Parliament

Cunninghame North is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of North Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of ten constituencies in the West Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Cunninghame South (Scottish Parliament constituency) Region or constituency of the Scottish Parliament

Cunninghame South is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of North Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election, and is one of ten constituencies in the West Scotland electoral region. The regions elects seven additional members, in addition to the ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

The Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway (L&AR) was an independent railway company built to provide the Caledonian Railway with a shorter route for mineral traffic from the coalfields of Lanarkshire to Ardrossan Harbour, in Scotland.

Saltcoats North railway station

Saltcoats North railway station was a railway station serving the town of Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland as part of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway.

Ardrossan Railway

The Ardrossan Railway was a railway company in Scotland built in the mid-19th century that primarily ran services between Kilwinning and Ardrossan, as well as freight services to and from collieries between Kilwinning and Perceton. The line was later merged with the Glasgow and South Western Railway, and is today part of the Ayrshire Coast Line.

The Largs Branch is a railway line in Scotland, serving communities on the north Ayrshire Coast, as well as the deep water ocean terminal at Hunterston. It branches from the Glasgow to Ayr line at Kilwinning.

Stevenston Beach

Stevenston Beach is a Local Nature Reserve (LNR), located between Stevenston and Saltcoats in Scotland. It is situated on the coast, west of the Stevenston Burn. The park covers an area of 12 ha, and consists mostly of sand dunes, with an area of coal mining spoil derived from Auchenharvie Colliery No. 5 pit which produced Ladyha' coal. It is ranked as the fifth most important sand dune system in Ayrshire. The dunes are also designated as a wildlife site by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Stevenston Canal

The Stevenston Canal was a waterway in North Ayrshire, Scotland, built for Robert Reid Cunningham of Seabank and Patrick Warner of the Ardeer Estate, which ran to the port of Saltcoats from Ardeer, and Stevenston with a number of short branches to coal pits along the length of the cut. The canal opened on 19 September 1772, the first commercial canal in Scotland. It closed in the 1830s, when it was abandoned following the exhaustion of the coal mines and the rise of importance of Ardrossan as a harbour. At the time of its construction it was said to be the "most complete water system of colliery transport ever devised in Britain."

References

  1. ↑ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Town Hall, Countess Street (LB40489)" . Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "James Jardine: Overview of James Jardine". Scottish-places.info. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Stansfield, page 7
  5. ↑ "News and events - The University of Manchester - Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics". www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "The Story Behind Colin Hay's "Maggie"". Milwaukee Public Radio Interview. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Steve (4 October 2010). "Bear Alley: Hugh Munro". Bearalley.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
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