[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by katex

Maybe it meant something like Alley t'road then ? (Translation .. Alley to the road..).

This is a more likely explanation, considering the age of the place, & its first mention in the Church Kirk registers. In those days Vicars were not usualy local to the area, & wrote what they thought they'd heard, and Alley tu Royds is feasable considering local dialects. Especially as there were very few paved roads in those days, mostly cart tracks.
Retlaw.