At the site of a 4th-century Roman fort in Wales, the first Norman king of England William I (r. 1066–1087), began work on the castle keep in 1081. The castle was substantially altered and extended during the Victorian period by John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute (1847–1900), who in 1866 began a long-term collaboration with the British architect and designer William Burges (1827–1881). Burges' last and one of his most ambitious projects was the execution of an Arab-style interior installed in the late 16th-century Herbert Tower. The so-called Arab Room is reminiscent of the Islamicate architecture of Norman Sicily and includes four replicas of stucco and glass windows. At Burges' death in April 1881, the Arab Room was unfinished and the British architect and brother-in-law of William Burges, Richard Popplewell Pullan (1825–1888), completed it in 1882.

Newman, J. (1995). Glamorgan (Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan). Harmondsworth.

Williams, M. (2019). Cardiff Castle and the Marquesses of Bute. London.