Ardrossan (; Gaelic Placenames collected by Iain Mac an Tailleir (2003)
/ref>) is a town on the

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east a ...

coast in southwestern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most cas ...

with

Saltcoats Saltcoats ( gd, 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 al ...

and

Stevenston Stevenston ( sco, Steenstoun, gd, Baile Steaphain) 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 Firth of Clyde coast; the easternmost parts o ...

known as the ' Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore 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 ...

History

Listed Building, Glasgow Street (geograph 4909150)

Ardrossan's roots can be traced to the construction of its

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

'Cannon Hill', thought to be in around 1140, by Simon de Morville. The castle and estate passed to the Barclay family (also known as Craig) and through successive heirs until the 14th century when it passed to the Eglinton family on the death of Godfrey Barclay de Ardrossan, who died without an heir. Sir Fergus Barclay, Baron of Ardrossan, was said to be in league with the Devil and in one of his dealings, set the task for the Devil to make ropes from sand; on failing to do so, the Devil kicked the castle with his hoof in frustration and left a

petrosomatoglyph A petrosomatoglyph is a supposed image of parts of a human or animal body in rock. They occur all over the world, often functioning as an important form of symbolism, used in religious and secular ceremonies, such as the crowning of kings. Some a ...

hoofprint.Ardrossan & Neighbourhood. Guide. 1920s. pp. 29–30. Milestone - Ardrossan

The castle stood until 1648, when

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

's troops had it destroyed, taking much of the stonework to

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

to build the citadel at Montgomerieston. The ruins of ''Cromwell's Fort'' still stand, but are overgrown and in a dangerous condition. In 1759, The 10th Earl of Eglinton formed a herd of the ancient breed of White or

Chillingham cattle Chillingham cattle, also known as Chillingham wild cattle, are a breed of cattle that live in a large enclosed park at Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, England. In summer 2022 the cattle numbers 138 animals with approximately equal numbers ...

at Ardrossan, probably using stock from the Cadzow herd. The numbers dropped and in 1820 the remaining animals were dispersed. All the animals in the herd were hornless. Ardrossan developed during the 18th and 19th centuries thanks to its position on the coast. Exports of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

and

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with ...

to Europe and North America were the main trade from the town's port, which became a centre for

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...

. Fishing vessels and small cargo boats were the mainstay of the

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...

until the 1950s, when the yard ceased to exist as a result of foreign competition. A smaller yard, McCrindle's, operated until the 1980s before it ceased trading. Passenger services from Ardrossan Harbour to Brodick on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Buteshi ...

started in 1834, and services to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

in the north of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, and to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

followed in 1863 and 1892 respectively. Clyde sailings were operated initially by the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company from Winton Pier and the Caledonian Railway from Montgomerie Pier. The Earl of Eglinton's ambitious plan for a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

link to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

was never realised. Between 1841 and 1848, Ardrossan was a part of the " West Coast Main Line" equivalent of its time. The fastest route from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to Glasgow was by train to , and then by packet boat to Ardrossan. After 1848 the entire journey could be made by rail, avoiding Ardrossan. The link to the Isle of Man no longer operates, having first been moved to Stranraer until all Scottish services terminated. Shell-Mex operated an il refineryon behalf of the Air Ministry, from a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

aviation-fuel canning factory, and the harbour was expanded for the company's tanker ships to berth. Ardrossan North Bay looking south

The harbour has been redeveloped as a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...

, and the passenger and vehicle

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

to Brodick is operated by Caledonian MacBrayne. Ardrossan became a

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Bur ...

, in 1846, with a provost,

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

and commissioners. After the Second World War, the burgh was based at Ardrossan Civic Centre. Its burgh status was lost in 1974 on the formation of Strathclyde Regional Council, when it came under Cunninghame District. It is now part of

, created as a unitary authority in 1996. Ardrossan c

In 1921 Ardossan was the European site for the first successful reception of medium wave

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

signals from North America. Using a wavelength of about 230 to 235 metres (a frequency near 1.3

Megahertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one ...

) an

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency commu ...

group in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

sent

Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one ...

signals to a station set up in a tent.

Transport

Railway

The town has three railway stations: , close to the boundary with

; , closed 1968 and reopened 1987; and near the port for the Arran ferry. Ardrossan South Beach station is at the junction on the Ayrshire Coast Line, where the lines to Ardrossan Harbour and diverge. There are two trains per hour that head eastbound from Ardrossan South Beach to , of which one comes from Ardrossan Harbour, calling at Ardrossan Town, and the other comes from Largs. All rail services from Ardrossan are operated by

ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise ...

. There are two closed railway stations: Ardrossan North was adjacent to Montgomerie Street, and the platform remains can still be seen, although the redevelopment of the former Shell Bitumen Plant site edges closer to the remains. Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier was further down the line from Ardrossan North, but the building of the harbourside apartments removed the last remains of the platforms and no evidence remains that a railway station once stood there. The last train ran through these stations around 1968, although by that time they served summer boat train services only, after regular passenger traffic ceased in 1932.

Roads and bus services

Ardrossan is linked to Glasgow via the A737 road and to

via the A78 road. The A78 Three Towns Bypass opened in December 2004 and has provided an improvement to local transport links, reducing local travelling times. The bypass has diverted heavier traffic from the Three Towns. Bus services to the town are operated primarily by

Stagecoach West Scotland Stagecoach West Scotland ( gd, Stagecoach an Iar na h-Alba) is an operating region of Stagecoach UK Bus, comprising Western Buses Ltd based in Ayr, Scotland. Operations Stagecoach West Scotland operates in west central and southwest Scotland ...

Ferry services

A regular ferry service from Ardrossan to Brodick on the

has run since 1834. The ferry departs every two hours and 45 minutes Monday–Saturday and takes 55 minutes. A ferry service to

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...

started on 23 May 2013. In the past Ardrossan had ferry services to

, and, in summer, to the

. The Belfast run was operated by the Burns and Laird Line and its last scheduled service was in 1976. The last ship to sail the route was , which was the largest car ferry to operate from Ardrossan. The Isle of Man run was operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company during the summer season, and its last service was in 1985, however Caledonian MacBrayne experimented with a smaller vessel for a couple of seasons, which ran one return service per week.

Education

Ardrossan is served by three primary schools (St Peter's Primary School, Stanley Primary School, and Winton Primary School) and two secondary schools:

Ardrossan Academy Ardrossan Academy is a Scottish secondary school, opened in October 1882, serving Ardrossan, with pupils also coming from nearby Saltcoats, West Kilbride, Seamill Seamill is a village in North Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland, about 5 ...

, a non-denominational school opened in 1882, has about 1,050 students from Ardrossan, Saltcoats, West Kilbride and Seamill; St Matthews Academy in Saltcoats is the secondary school for Roman Catholic pupils from Ardrossan.

Energy

Ardrossan is located near two

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

stations: Hunterston A, 360 MW and Hunterston B, 1215 MW. Ardrossan Wind Farm, a 24 MW wind farm that opened in 2004, overlooks the town.

Places of worship

In Ardrossan, there are five churches. * St.Peter-in-Chains is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church. Designed by Jack Coia and opened in 1938. Category A Listed building. The Stations of the Cross are by

Archibald Dawson Archibald C. Dawson ARSA (16 April 1892 – 15 April 1938) was a Scottish sculptor, specialising in architectural carving.Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

. * EU Congregational Church * Church of the Nazarene.

Amenities

Eglinton Country Park Eglinton Country Park is located on the grounds of the old Eglinton Castle estate in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland (map reference NS 3227 4220). Eglinton Park is situated in the parish of Kilwinning, part of the former district of Cunni ...

is linked to Ardrossan by the Sustrans Cyclepath. * There is a Unionist Club on Princes Street, which was established in 1901 and a Labour Social Club is present in the neighbouring town of Saltcoats. * The town has two diplomatic missions, a Danish and a Norwegian consulate. * The town has a municipal cemetery, on Sorbie Road, which was opened in 1854. It contains the graves of 23 sailors who died in the sinking of '' HMS Dasher''.

Governance

Ardrossan is in the Ayrshire North and Arran 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

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

. The

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

seat is held by the Scottish National Party, and the Holyrood seat was gained by the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from th ...

from Labour in the May 2007 election by a mere 48 votes. Historically, Ardrossan has been part of the UK parliament constituencies

(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.

Castlehill

Castlehill is also known as 'Cannon Hill' by locals. A historic ancient burial place on Castle Hill was vandalized in the 1950s. One tomb was then taken to the Barony Church on South Crescent for safekeeping. A prehistoric shell-mound, measuring 102 ft by 16 ft, on the side of Cannon Hill, close to Ardrossan Town railway station, was excavated by the Ayrshire historian John Smith in the 1890s. Its length was mostly overhung by a few feet, by the rock face, which had formed a rock-shelter, which the excavation showed had been occupied at intervals over a considerable period. The railway workings had cut a longitudinal section in the mound, which overlay a 1 ft layer of raised beach sand. The mound was composed of seashells, mainly periwinkle and limpet, and animal bones. Relics found included a stone 'anchor' with a groove cut round it for a rope, a possible stone sinker, fragments of very coarse, hammer stone, hand-made pottery, also pieces of wheel-turned, glazed pottery, a bone chisel, two bone needles, etc. No sign of the mound is visible today.

Notable people

* Roy Aitken, footballer, captain of Celtic Football Club in the 1980s and captain of the

national team * Sam Black, artist * Flying Officer 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 previousl ...

Dugald Drummond Dugald Drummond (1 January 1840 – 8 November 1912) was a Scottish steam locomotive engineer. He had a career with the North British Railway, LB&SCR, Caledonian Railway and London and South Western Railway. He was the older brother of the eng ...

, born in Ardrossan in 1840, was chief mechanical engineer with the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...

* Peter Drummond, was a senior executive for the

Glasgow and South Western Railway The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) was a railway company in Scotland. It served a triangular area of south-west Scotland between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle. It was formed on 28 October 1850 by the merger of two earlier railways ...

* Peter Duncan, former Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland * Bobby Ferguson, goalkeeper for

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

in the 1960s. * Billy Gilmour (footballer), professional footballer, former youth player of

Rangers F.C Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

, and currently Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. * Janet Hendry, first female pilot in Scotland * Elizabeth Innes (1921 - 2015), paediatric haematologist. * Calum Kennedy (1928–2006), popular exponent of Scottish Gaelic song in the 1950s and 60s * John Kerr, physicist who discovered the now-eponymous

Kerr effect The Kerr effect, also called the quadratic electro-optic (QEO) effect, is a change in the refractive index of a material in response to an applied electric field. The Kerr effect is distinct from the Pockels effect in that the induced index chan ...

. *

Campbell Martin Campbell Martin (born 10 March 1960) is a local online Scottish journalist and former politician. At the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, he was elected on the Scottish National Party (SNP) list as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) ...

, journalist and former Independent Member of the

for West of Scotland * Mark Menzies,

member of parliament for Fylde * Craig Reid, footballer * W.B. Young, Scottish rugby player * Paul Ireland, film director

Other places with the same name

The name Ardrossan has also been given to places elsewhere in the world: * Ardrossan, South Australia * Ardrossan, Alberta * Ardrossan is the name of a large estate outside

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, owned by Robert Leaming Montgomery. His daughter, Helen Hope Montgomery Scott, was the inspiration for Tracy Lord, heroine of '' The Philadelphia Story''.

References

External links

Ardrossan & Saltcoats Kirkgate Church

Irvine Bay Regeneration

Ardrossan South beach Railway Station

the3towns.com

Photographs of every street in Ardrossan

Video footage of the harbour hydraulic accumulator tower

Ardrossan Castle video and commentary
*http://www.s117059731.websitehome.co.uk/Golden%20Jubilee/GoldenJubileeBook.htm {{authority control Burghs Firth of Clyde Ports and harbours of Scotland Towns in North Ayrshire Ardrossan−Saltcoats−Stevenston Populated coastal places in Scotland