Set on a clifftop above the Cullen Burn,[lower-alpha 1] Cullen House was built by the Ogilvies of Findlater, whose seat had previously been at Findlater Castle on the coast about 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) to the east.[1] In 1482, the Ogilvies were granted the lands of Findochty and Seafield, and by 1543 they changed their patronage from the parish church at Fordyce to Cullen Old Church,[1] which they helped to elevate to the status of a collegiate church.[lower-alpha 2] Buildings from around this time, which served as accommodation for the church's canons, stood on the site of the current house. These probably incorporated some of the stonework of an earlier medieval building on the site, known as Inverculain, which is mentioned in records of 1264,[6][7] and is thought to have been home to Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, the mother of Robert the Bruce.[8][9]