The first Pollok Castle was probably built beside the White Cart Water by Sir John Maxwell, 1st of Pollok, in the late 13th century and it was subsequently rebuilt nearby.
A third castle was built on the site of the first c 1367.
In 1747 Sir John Maxwell, 3rd baronet, demolished the castle and began work on a modern mansion house. It was completed in 1752 and minor additions were made in the mid-1840s.
Sir John Stirling Maxwell added two wings and a new entrance hall to the building, 1890-1904.
The Maxwell family gifted the house to the City of Glasgow in 1966 and in 2004 it remains open to the public, managed (since 1998) by the National Trust for Scotland.