[2] Before Easter and Wester Bavelaw were granted by King James VI to Laurence Scott of Harperrig in 1628, a 16th-century L-plan tower house had been built by Walter Dundas.

Both Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VI both stayed at Bavelaw, reputedly using it as a hunting lodge.

[3] Scott enlarged the tower house after his acquisition, possibly adding a small wing at the south-east angle.

Bavelaw fell into a ruinous state,[citation needed] but was restored and extended in 1900 by Sir Robert Lorimer,[4] linking the outbuildings to the main building, adding bigger windows and a turret to make the attic larger, and converting the basement.

A circular tower extends from the north-eastern corner of the main block and a small one-storey wing of a later date projects from the south-east.