[1] The burgh council of Old Aberdeen originally met in a room above the south porch of St Machar's Cathedral.

It was significantly extended to the south by a new structure, which incorporated some prison cells and was surmounted by a clock tower, in 1702.

[3] It was designed by a local architect, George Jaffrey, in the Georgian style, built by Jaffray in granite and was completed in 1789.

[2][4][5] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing south down the High Street; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured a doorway on the ground floor, with sash windows on the first and second floors and a pediment above.

The masonic lodge, which was still located in the room on the second floor, then relocated to the Old Coach House in Dunbar Street in August 2004,[8] allowing the university to refurbish the whole building, with financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, in 2005.