The old road from Stirling to Glasgow passed within 200 yards of the front of Touch. It skirted what was, until the middle of the 18th century, an impassable swamp.

Against this background it is a reasonable assumption that the first building at Touch would have been a tower. It would have been built of wood, for until the 15th century fortified stone buildings which could be used as a stronghold were forbidden unless they belonged to the King. The tower, which exists today is thought to have been built in the 15th century and probably built in a least two periods. Originally it would have been larger, and of course had no windows on the ground floor.

Up to this time the Lairds of Touch were Frasers, and in 1408 it was acquired by the Setons. The Setons extended the house, pulling down part of the tower to make a more substantial although still fortified house.

In 1745 Prince Charles Edward, on his way to the Battle of Prestonpans stayed at Touch on the night of September 13th 1745. He gave to his host a quaich, a ring and a miniature and General Murray left behind his dispatch book. These were much treasured by the Setons, and are now held in the safekeeping of an Edinburgh Museum. Later, fleeing from his Hanoverian pursuers after Culloden, he is said to have found refuge in a cave under a waterfall in the Touch Glen, for, with Seton’s sympathies well known, the house itself would have been too dangerous.

Hugh Seton, together with local lairds, brought families down from the highlands to start the mammoth task of draining the Carse of Stirling. Ditches were dug to float the peat which covered this bogland down to the River Forth, and eventually out to sea. In all an area some 60 square miles was reclaimed, and the rich clay soil which was exposed beneath and was for many years renowned for the production of Timothy hay.

This was only the start of Hugh Seton’s improvements to Touch. It is to him that we owe the magnificent south front which was commenced in 1757 and continued till 1770 when the Drawing Room ceiling was completed. As a result of his expenditure Hugh Seton found himself in considerable debt and left to travel abroad. His son, Archibald, determined to clear the estate of debt, joined the East India Company and sailed to India in 1779. He rose to high office, accumulated a considerable sum of money but sadly died on his way home before reaching Touch on whose behalf he has worked all his life.

The 18th Century Additions

The south front was commenced in 1758, and has traditionally been attributed to the Adam family, although to date there is no certain proof of this. It seems that the Master Mason, Gideon Gray supervised the construction of the 1748 design. The only major difference between the present house and those plans is in the staircase, which in the plans was shown as a square and not an oval. A stair of such a brilliant design might well have been the work of William Adam's son, Robert, but that remains a mystery.

The stone for the front of the house and for the stairs came from Longannet quarries. It was carried by sailing brigs up the Forth and then by horse and cart out from Stirling. David Henderson of Clackmannan was the glazier, and the hot water boiler was supplied by the newly founded Carron Iron Works with strict instructions not to fill the boiler with cold water, and that "Gentlemen found it convenient to pay their account by return!".

Archibald's sister, Barbara, married Sir Henry Stuart of Allanton, and inherited the estate. Sir Henry was a well known aboriculturist and planted many of the fine trees on Touch. He took the name of Seton-Steuart and their family remained the lairds of Touch until it passed to the present owners, the Buchanans in 1928.

Charles Buchanan engaged Sir Robert Lorimer to make improvements such as the installation of bathrooms, heating and lighting in the house, and the replacement of the original windows in place of the plate glass introduced in the Victorian era. Lorimer carried out this work with great sympathy. His one structural alteration was to remove what had been the wall on the left as you enter the hall, and this gives a feeling of spaciousness and light to what must have been a rather gloomy entrance.