This beautiful Victorian castle, Castell Coch, was designed in the 19th century by the architect William Burges for the third Marquess of Bute. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it was rebuilt from the ruins of a medieval castle, making it a near-exact replica. Little is known about the history of this first medieval castle.
It is believed that in the 11th century a wooden castle stood on this site; two centuries later it was rebuilt into a stone one to control the territory.
In the late 19th century, the castle ruins belonged to John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, one of the wealthiest men of the time, who made his fortune mining his estate in Glamorganshire. In 1872, Lord Bute approached the renowned architect William Burges about the possible restoration of Castle Coch. He had already used Burges’s services during the renovation of Cardiff Castle, which restored it to its unique Gothic appearance.