Saltcoats ( gd, Baile an t-Salainn) is a town on the west coast of
North Ayrshire,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
, carried out in small cottages along the shore. It is part of the '
Three Towns
Three Towns is a term used to refer to several groups of towns.
United Kingdom
There are several groups of towns in the United Kingdom referred to as the Three Towns, many of which form contiguous settlements, or are in close proximity to each ...
'
conurbation along with
Ardrossan
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 ...
and
Stevenston and is the third largest town in North Ayrshire.
History
![Saltcoats Town Hall (geograph 6011840)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Saltcoats_Town_Hall_%28geograph_6011840%29.jpg)
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
Saltcoats Town Hall is a municipal building in Countess Street, Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The building, which is used by North Ayrshire Council as hub for the delivery of local services, is a Category B listed building.
History
Th ...
, which dates back to 1826, is a Category B
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
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
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-pa ...
constituency in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
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
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
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.
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, and there is no trace of the station today bar a nearby bridge.
Notable people
*
Alexander Allan, founder of the
Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers
*
Andrew Allan of the
Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers
*
Sir Hugh Allan
Sir Hugh Allan (September 29, 1810 – December 9, 1882) was a Scottish-Canadian shipping magnate, financier and capitalist. By the time of his death, the Allan Shipping Line had become the largest privately owned shipping empire in the wor ...
, of the
Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers
*
George Biagi, Italian national rugby player
*
William Burns, historian
*
Kenneth Campbell, recipient of the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
*
Steve Clarke
''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen
Notable people with the name include:
steve jops
* Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people
* Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people
* Steve ...
, professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
*
Hamish Fraser, former communist, traditionalist Catholic writer and local councillor
*
Janice Galloway
Janice Galloway (born 1955 in Saltcoats, Scotland) is a Scottish writer of novels, short stories, prose-poetry, non-fiction and libretti.
Biography
She is the second daughter of James Galloway and Janet Clark McBride. Her parents separated w ...
, author
*
Michael Garrett, first Sir Bernard Lovell chair in astrophysics, Director of
Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics
The Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, is among the largest astrophysics groups in the UK. It includes the Jodrell Bank Observatory, the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, and the Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre. The ...
*
Colin Hay
Colin James Hay (born 29 June 1953) is a Scottish-Australian musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of the band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay's music ha ...
, musician, singer-songwriter, leader of
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is C ...
*
Al Howie, long-distance runner
*
Bobby Lennox
Robert Lennox, MBE (born 30 August 1943, in Saltcoats, Ayrshire) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played for Celtic and was a member of their 1967 European Cup-winning team, known as the Lisbon Lions. He earned ten internation ...
, professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
*
James Manson, engineer
*
Hugh McMahon, professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
*
Betsy Miller, sea captain
*
Hugh Munro
Sir Hugh Thomas Munro, 4th Baronet (16 October 1856 – 19 March 1919), was a British mountaineer best known for his list of mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet (914.4 m), known as Munros. Born in London, Munro was the fifth child of ...
, author
*
Graeme Obree
Graeme Obree (born 11 September 1965), nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish racing cyclist who twice broke the world hour record, in July 1993 and April 1994, and was the individual pursuit world champion in 1993 and 1995. He was known ...
, cyclist
*
Robert Thornton, professional darts player
References
External links
Video footage and history of the old Saltcoats HarbourVideo footage of the 1678 Auchenharvie coalfield drain aditVideo footage and history of the old open air poolsThe railway between Saltcoats and Stevenston
the3towns.comThreetownersSaltcoatsCommunityCouncilIrvine Bay
{{Portal, Scotland
Seaside resorts in Scotland
Towns in North Ayrshire
Firth of Clyde
Ardrossan−Saltcoats−Stevenston
Populated coastal places in Scotland