"[1] The house was restored from a derelict state between 1996 and 2010 by the community and local interest groups and Trust.

[citation needed] Belmont was built in 1775, with the farm square to the rear complete by 1790; together they form "miniature Palladian classical groups with flanking pavilion wings".

[3] Surrounding enclosures including garden grounds form a regular layout running down to the sea.

The house was built for Thomas Mouat, whose father William was laird of the Garth estate in Shetland.

Thomas Mouat visited Lothian, around Edinburgh, to gather ideas on contemporary architecture, and may have been influenced by Hopetoun House.