The 3rd Marquess of Donegall built Belfast Castle between 1867 and 1870. The firm Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon designed it. It is popularly credited to Sir Charles Lanyon, though some historians credit W. H. Lynn or John Lanyon. The article calls it a Victorian country house in the Scots Baronial style, with an asymmetrical plan, towers and turrets.
It is built of pink Scrabo sandstone with Giffnock sandstone dressings and a basalt plinth. It sits about 400 feet (122 m) above sea level on Cave Hill. Costs exceeded the £11,000 budget. Lord Shaftesbury added the serpentine stone staircase in 1894.
The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury gave it to the city in 1934. It was restored and reopened on November 11, 1988. Belfast City Council owns it, and it is open daily as a restaurant and event venue.
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