The tower house itself is a well-preserved example of a 15th-century Scottish nobleman’s residence. Cardoness Castle was built primarily as a family residence for a well-to-do Galloway family with aspirations.  Cardoness Castle was also built with defence clearly in mind. The tower’s walls are 2.5m thick, and the window openings are mostly small. The ground floor walls are pierced by gunholes that look like inverted keyholes.