Remains of a Townhouse or mansion built by the Earl of Mar in the mid 16th century. The façade is still imposing, with many carvings and heraldic panels. It rises to 2 storeys with a rectangular, internal courtyard of which three sides survive. J S Fleming, in a PSAS article of 1905, mentions that there is the possibility of French master masons, Nycolas Roy (1539) or John Koytell (1559), having worked on it, as there are some similarities to work at Stirling Castle, where they were both believed to have worked. In c1904 architect John Small recorded a number of masons' marks but unfortunately their locations were not recorded. However in 2010 Peter Leeming, of Tameside Archaeological Society, recorded one of these marks (No6) on the right side of the entrance arch. The marks record 12 different masons working. | | |