The Seafield area of Ayr is located in the south-west section of the Ayr West ward of the town.
The area is now primarily residential, although there are several hotels, care homes, retail outlets and schools located within it. The boundaries of Seafield are highlighted in the map shown and designated by the blue/black lines. The Fort area sits to its north, with St Leonards on its eastern boundary and Doonfoot to its south.
Seafield is home to Seafield House which was originally built for use as his home by Sir William Arrol in 1859, before being rebuilt in the Italianate Style in 1888, and then subsequently being converted into an auxiliary hospital during the First World War. At the end of the war, it became a Children’s Hospital before joining the newly formed National Health Service in 1948 operating under its auspices until its closure in 1991. Seafield House has recently been renovated and converted into apartments with its substantial grounds also given over to a number of newly built high-end homes.
The area is also home to Ayr’s original racecourse which saw the first official horse race meeting in Ayr in 1771, albeit horse racing in the town dated back nearly two centuries prior to that date. The racecourse itself was a one mile long oval and was the setting for major race meets including the Western Meeting which included the Ayr Gold Cup. After a new larger racecourse was built in 1907, the Old Racecourse as it is now known became the site of football playing fields as well as part of Seafield Golf Course which itself straddles the Seafield and Doonfoot areas of the town.
The Seafield area is now primarily residential however a number of businesses still operate within the area, not only in established business premises, but also in some of the large former residences which have been converted for business use. A large stretch of Ayr Esplanade is located within the Seafield area.
Seafield is home to Wellington School, an independent private school which was originally set up in 1849 to provide education and tuition for a small group of girls, but by 1923 has outgrown its premises and moving to its current site at Carleton Turrets located on Blackburn Drive where it serves 580 pupils between the ages of 3 and 18 years of age.
Seafield is also the location of a number of care homes as well as, since 1989, Ayrshire Hospice which was originally sited at 35 Racecourse Road before subsequently expanding through the purchase of the adjacent property at 37 Racecourse Road. The hospice is currently in the midst of a major £17m redevelopment programme which will further expand and improve the scope of the services it offers with completion due by the middle of 2024
