Where one strategic marriage connected the Chalmers family to the Johnstones, the Douglases, the Lockharts, and ultimately to Scotland's royal bloodlines.

Historic Environment Scotland identifies the central structure as the original late sixteenth-century tower, although later owners altered it extensively. During the eighteenth century a semi-octagonal stair tower was added, Victorian owners inserted larger windows and domestic wings, and the roofline was lowered from its original height. Even so, the north and east walls preserve much of the original tower built by the Johnstones over four centuries ago.