[3] The building is similar in style and date to the Mansion House in nearby Rothesay, and is likely to have been built by the same architect.

The earlier interiors were mostly lost when the building was divided into flats,[2] and further damage occurred when a fire broke out in June 1991 while the restoration was in progress.

[8]) The present building was originally an L-plan tower house, with a projecting watch-chamber above the staircase,[2] from which "missiles could be dropped on unwelcome and unsuspecting guests".

[5] The stonework of the house bears witness to various changes to the floor levels and layout over the course of the building's history.

[2] This inheritance was noted by a contemporary writer,[11] who stated that he was an eccentric, "exceedingly parsimonious", and that "he had a great attachment to swine, and kept a litter of pigs in his bedroom".

[6][12] He then tried to sell the Ascog estate, at which point a number of claimants emerged, insisting that under the terms of the entail they would be entitled to a share of the proceeds.

He succeeded where his brother had not: in only a short time he managed to become a British citizen, had the House of Lords overturn the old will, and, in 1831, sold the estate.