Hicks Lane was named after William Hicks, a Presbyterian, who became Sheriff of Cumberland in 1736. He purchased Tangier House (now the Waverley Hotel) from the Gilpin family in 1745 and lived there until his death in 1758. Hicks Lane runs along the side of the old Gaiety cinema from Tangier Street to Senhouse Street passing the end of Kelsick Lane. I remember you could judge if a film was worth seeing at the cinema by the fact the queue to get in went round the corner and right up Hicks Lane.
William's son also called William Hicks also became Sheriff of Cumberland in 1772 and continued to live there until his death in 1788.
© WAWL 2009