Argyll's Lodging is Scotland's fines 17th century townhouse. William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling, turned a 16th century tower house into a mansion grand enough to entertain royality. Sir William helped found Nova Scotia, now part of Canada. His shield above the entrance is supportetd by a mermaid and a native American and includes the first representation of a beaver on a coat of arms. The 9th Earl of Argyll remodelled the house in the 1670s.