john crichton-stuart inherited his title and estates at the age of six months, in 1848 on the death of his father the second marquess. his father's shrewd investments in the development of the port and city of cardiff, and the enormous revenues from coal, together with his wider patrimony, left the third marquess very considerable wealth and at the time of his coming of age he was claimed to be "the richest man in the world". in 1865, the marquess met william burges and the two embarked on an architectural partnership, the results of which long outlasted burges' own death in 1881. bute's desires and money allied with burges' fantastical imagination and skill led to the creation of two of the finest examples of the late victorian era gothic revival, cardiff castle and castell coch.