During the war with England called the 'Rough Wooings' the site had been occupied by a large English artillery fort and garrison. Following the design by Thomas Pettit, Surveyor of Calais, the fort was begun on 5 April 1548 by Sir Robert Bowes and was estimated to cost £296 and take four weeks to complete. Hugh Willoughby was its captain. The Cranstouns sold Castle Hill on 27 January 1587 to Sir John Maitland (d. 1595). By the 22 March 1587, Maitland was "busily occupied with his masons at the building of his house in the Fort of Lauder."