THE Barony St John Church is not alone as a historical asset in Ardrossan.

There are nearly 50 Category B and C Listed Buildings within 300 metres of Barony St John, clearly demonstrating the Townscape Heritage Significance of the area.

These Listed Buildings include: 

• The Bath Villa at 90 Princes Street. Category B Listing

• The Royal Bank of Scotland building at 93 Princes Street. Category B Listing

• The Clyde Estuary Hotel at 78 Princes Street. Category B Listing

• The Obelisk on Castle Hill. Category B Listing

The Barony St John Regeneration Project Team also believes the completed facility can form an integral part of a wider tourist and community strategy to promote the history and historic assets of Ardrossan in their local and national setting.

Barony St John believe this could be achieved as part of an integrated strategy forming a “Heritage Trail” approach by which the building, as an iconic structure fronting onto the main thoroughfare through the town and a strong visual beacon for users of the shore front, is integrated into a tourist and visitor loop circuit through the town.

This would create a structure where visitors could follow the “Heritage Trail” from the shore front to visit The Barony St John, Ardrossan Castle Heritage Site and the numerous Listed Properties which activate the main “high street” frontages of Glasgow Street and Princes Street thereby forming the “Ardrossan Loop” as outlined in the diagram to the left.

Although still in its infancy stage of development, The Barony St John Regeneration Team’s idea is to have plaques and QR codes on the Listed buildings throughout the “Heritage Trail”.

These could link visitors to websites showing old and new photos of each building or location thus making it more interactive and fun for adults and children alike.

People could possibly be given a questionnaire on the various locations throughout the “Heritage Trail” and those that collect all the answers get a small prize – making this an ideal tourist and visitor attraction in itself whilst linking up the seafront with the rest of the town’s attractions.