Melbourne Terrace

Built around 1856, Melbourne Terrace was the first street to be built on the west side of Saltcoats that faced the sea (there was no Winton Circus or Montgomerie Crescent at that point). Over the next 40 years the surrounding area would be heavily developed and several new streets built.

Although we can’t say for certain, the street is presumably named for William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne and former Prime Minister of the UK who died around eight years before the street was built, and whom the Australian city is named after.

In doing some research we found this amusing comment from the Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald in August 1857: “There are [cottages] erected behind Hamilton Street, commanding a fine view of the sea, and forming part of an intended Crescent, which has very stupidly been called Melbourne Terrace.”

The Herald would intermittently refer to both Melbourne Terrace and a Melbourne Place in Saltcoats over the next 30 years, but as best we can tell a “Place” never existed. Nearby Eglinton Place originally ran all the way to Winton Circus until the half closest to the water (to the left of the park in the photo below) was renamed Melbourne Road in the early 1930s.

The Melbourne name has become well associated with Saltcoats over the last 170 years: the ground in front of the street would later be developed into Melbourne Park, and 1 Hamilton Street was at one point known as Melbourne House, eventually becoming the Melbourne Cafe. There’s also the Melbourne Fry chippy around the corner in Winton Street.