[3] Terringzean Castle occupies the summit of a high, steep bank overlooking the Lugar Water and the Terringzean Holm; a dry moat ending at the steep natural haughs or slopes, is still clearly visible as a protective measure against approach from the level ground to the south-east and south-west.

The tower was vaulted, with three ribs, and an entrance from the courtyard via a narrow passage leading to a partly surviving wheel-stair.

[10] A medieval hall house existed before this walled enclosure, possibly of a 13th-century date, indicating that an even earlier fortification may have been present.

[4] The earliest known reference to Terringzean dates from the Exchequer Rolls' in 1438, making however no mention of the castle, when £14 Scots was paid in tax from the lands to support the royal household.

[3][11] The Barony, castle and lands of Terringzean have a complex history of possession, with the Craufurds, also Crawfurd, being the first recorded.

[12] In 1488 Sir John Ramsay de Trarinzeane (sic) held the life-rent of the castle and lands.

[12] In 2007 a consortium, led by the Prince of Wales, including various heritage charities and the Scottish Government, purchased from the 7th Marquess, Dumfries House, along with its roughly 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) estate).