Wellpark Road

This narrow road that runs parallel with Raise Street in Saltcoats was once known as Raise Lane. More commonly though it was known as the Meikle Yett, more or less meaning “big gate”, and named as such as there used to be exactly that at the bottom of the lane: a large iron gate. It was a rickety lane with a couple of houses on it until the late 1880s when it was levelled and new housing was built, mostly on the west side of the street.

There was once a field next to the lane that had a well in it, known as the Well Park. This inspired the Town Council to rename the Meikleyett to Wellpark Road around 1887. We can’t help but feel Meikleyett was a much more interesting name!

The old houses of the Meikleyett are long gone, and were located roughly where the back of Barnett Court looks on to Wellpark Road.