A royal hunting lodge was mentioned as being here in the 13th century: this might well have been built of timber. The site belonged to the Bruce family from 1359 to 1796, having been sold to them by their kinsman David II.
The first tower was built c1365 as a two-storey house by a member of the Bruce family on the summit of King’s Seat Hill, an important strategic site overlooking the Forth valley and all the land around. The original entrance was at first floor level and was reached by an external staircase.
In the 15th century the building was raised to tower height and the taller, square south tower was constructed. This created an L-plan structure with a crenellated parapet or wall walk supported on machicolations (alternate holes in the stonework said to be useful for pouring nasty substances down onto attackers!)