continued the development of the house, adding the first of the towers, and the western range. Today the house principally reflects its extensions of the mid 18th and early 19th century. In the 1740s, Robert Dalyell added the dining-room and a morning room, whilst around 1810, the architect William Burn (1789–1870) adapted the building to the Scottish baronial style, adding further towers and mock battlements. Some of the Gothic exterior decoration was inspired by Walter Scott, who was a friend of the Dalyell family. Today, the building is three-storey at the main north facade, with two-storey wings. In 1944, the house, its parkland, its contents, and an endowment for its upkeep were given to the National Trust for Scotland by Eleanor Dalyell. The charter she granted states that the "history, legend and memory of the family of Dalyell of the Binns, shall be preserved..." for the benefit and enjoyment of the nation. However, the right of the family to reside in the house was retained. The former MP for Linlithgow and "Father of the House", Sir Tam Dalyell (1932–2017), lived in the western range of the house. His widow, Kathleen, is the National Trust's representative for the House of the Binns and heavily involved in its maintenance. General Tam o' the Binns The house's main historic claim to fame is the occupancy of General Sir Tam Dalyell (1615–1685). Dalyell served as a military commander for both Charles I and Charles II. During the Civil War, he was taken prisoner by the parliamentarians at the battle of Worcester and imprisoned in the Tower of London. However, he escaped and travelled to Russia where he fought for the Tsar — earning the epithet "Muscovite De'il". He returned to Scotland at the Restoration of the king, and secured his feared reputation (as "Bluidy Tam") by his violent suppression of the Covenanters from the 1660s. In 1678, he became Commander-in-Chief in Scotland and, in 1681, he mustered a new regiment at the Binns, becoming its first colonel. That Regiment, the Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons, which later became the Royal Scots Greys in 1877, was to have itself a long history. Many artefacts belonging to General Dalyell (including his boots) are still located at the Binns. Some are connected with the fairly dubious stories that have grown up around him. In this house, the General is said to have played cards with the Devil: