SALTCOATS (pop. 8120)  , a mile to the south, is a popular sea-side resort, with a brisk trade, due to its proximity to Ardrossan and Stevenston; the making of salt, once a leading industry, has ceased . Ardrossan dates from an early period . The name Arthur of Ardrossan is found in connexion with a charter dated 1226; and Sir Fergus of Ardrossan accompanied Edward Bruce in his Irish expedition in 1316, and in 1320 signed the appeal to the pope, made by the barons of Scotland, against the aggressions of England . The family of Ardrossan is now merged, by marriage, in that of the earl of Eglinton and Winton . The castle where Wallace surprised the English garrison and threw their corpses into the dungeon, grimly styled " Wallace's Larder," was finally destroyed by Cromwell, who is said to have used part of its masonry for the construction of the fort at Ayr; but its ruins still exist .