ca. 1091 Robert Fitzhamon initiated construction of an earth and timber fortification on the site.
1121--1147 Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (bef. 1100--1147), reinforced the structure with stone and constructed a 12-sided shell keep.
1270s Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester (1243--1295) refortified the curtain wall, added permanent lodging for the knights of Glamorgan in the outer ward, and began construction of the south gateway and the Black Tower.
1314 Upon the death of Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, possession of castle passed to Hugh le Despenser, 2nd Baron Le Despenser.
1414 Cardiff passed to Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl or Warwick (1381/2--1439), who constructed the residential quarters along the western wall and the Octagon Tower.
bef. July 1474 Anne Neville, Duchess of Gloucester (1456--1484/5), qv, married Richard Plantagnet, 3rd Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III (1452--1485), and Cardiff passed to Richard.
1485 Upon Richard III's defeat by Henry VII, Cardiff was taken into the Crown's possession and granted to Jasper Tudor, 16th Earl of Pembroke (1430--1495), qv.
1550 Edward VI granted Cardiff to William Herbert, 20th Earl of Pembroke, who reinforced the castle.
1776 Charlotte Jane Herbert passed Cardiff to John Stuart , 1st Marquess of Bute (1744--1814). Stuart employed 'Capability' Brown and Henry Holland to begin restoration efforts which lasted over the next 150 years. Holland remodelled the Herbert additions of the 1500s and rebuilt the greater and lesser wings. The Great Hall was partitioned off into three rooms: a new Entrance Hall, a Library and a Dining Room, and the bedrooms above the Hall were modernised.
1868--1930 The 3rd Marquess Bute, employing William Burges, and the 4th Marquess, following Burges' plans, altered the castle to fit a Gothic Revival design.
1947 Cardiff turned over to the city, and maintainence is entrusted to the Cardiff City Council.
