Ruchlaw House is mid-17th century house but almost certainly incorporates part of an earlier tower.

In the very early 13th century the lands of Richelkellach were granted to Bertram, son of Alexander de Seton, by Patrick, Earl of Dunbar. Bertram is later styled “de Ruchelaw” rather than “de Seton“.

A collection of papers describing raids into Scotland by the English during the Rough Wooing note that in December 1544 William Bucton and others travelled from Berwick to Staynton and Roughlay, implying that the village of Stenton and the tower of Ruchlaw were attacked.

By the late 16th century Ruchlaw was owned by the Sydserf family, with the manor being mentioned in a grant to Patrick Saidserf de Ruchlaw. The tower may date from around this time or a little earlier, the entire ground floor originally being vaulted, with the low curve of the arch perhaps indicative of a 16th (or even 15th) century date. It could be speculated that if an earlier tower was attacked in 1544 then it may have been rebuilt and extended later in the 16th century.

The oldest part of the house is the main block, which rises to a height of three storeys, running approximately east to west. Later a wing was added, projecting to the south from the east end of the main block. A round tower in the re-entrant angle contained a spiral staircase.

Around 1700 the spiral staircase and round tower were removed, replaced by a scale-and-platt staircase in a rectangular addition in the re-entrant angle. At some point the vault in the west end of the main block, now the library, was removed but those in the centre and east end of the block, now the entrance hall and kitchen respectively, remain.

The Sydserf family continued to own Ruchlaw until 1950 and it is now a private home.