On 21 May 1866, the land for the monastery was bought from William Hay, 4th Earl of Kinnoull. On 16 June 1868, the foundation stone was laid. It was blessed by the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh John Strain. The building was designed by a local architect Andrew Heiton. He designed many buildings in Perth and abroad, such as Vogrie House, the Perth Municipal Buildings, and Abbey Presbyterian Church, Dublin. His students included James Macintyre Henry and John Murray Robertson, and he worked with his nephew, Andrew Granger Heiton.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland, Francis Hindes Groome (1901)Municipal Buildings, Perth from Historic Environment Scotland, retrieved 5 April 2021
