William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, built the castle in the mid-14th century as a status symbol, and the infobox gives about 1350. It is a castle of enceinte, a curtain wall castle, which the article calls the last of its type built in Scotland. It is local red sandstone. The curtain wall is over 49 feet (15 m) high and about 295 feet (90 m) long, the gatehouse is up to 79 feet (24 m) high, and the well is 105 feet (32 m) deep.
James IV besieged it in 1491, and James V besieged it in 1528, damaging the barbican. Master mason George Sempill carried out repairs from 1537 to 1539. Cromwell's forces under Monck breached the Douglas Tower in 1651 and left the castle in ruins.
The Dalrymple family bought it in 1699 and handed it to the Office of Works in 1924. Historic Environment Scotland cares for it as a scheduled monument.
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