Across the pond

There are just so many ways to shoot this place !

The Marquesses of Bute acquired the castle in 1776. John Stuart, the first marquess, took steps to protect the ruins. His great-grandson John, the third marquess, was immensely rich as the result of the family's holdings in the South Wales coalfields and was passionately interested in the medieval period. He had the site fully surveyed by the architect William Frame, and reroofed the great hall in the 1870s. The marquess began a process of buying back leasehold properties around the castle with the intent of clearing back the town houses that had been built up to the edge of the site.

The fourth marquess, John was an enthusiastic restorer and builder and commissioned a major restoration project between 1928 and 1939. The stonework was carefully repaired, with moulds made to recreate missing pieces. The Inner East Gatehouse was rebuilt, along with several of the other towers. The marquess carried out landscaping work, with the intent of eventually re-flooding the lakes, and thanks to several decades of purchases was finally able to demolish the local houses encroaching on the view of the castle.