St Donat ' s Castle St Donat ' s Castle is a medieval castle in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales , overlooking the Bristol Channel in the village of St Donat ' s near Llantwit Major , and about 25 km west of Cardiff . Since 1962 the castle has housed the international Sixth form college Atlantic College . The castle lies on an elevation to the east of a small valley opening to the sea between precipitous sea cliff s to both east and west . An inner court about 40m across within a polygonal inner curtain wall is closely surrounded by an outer court and curtain wall with a dry moat facing the eastern approach . The curtain walls date from c . 1300 , having been built by the first Stradling ( or perhaps by his widow ' s second husband ) . The outer wall mostly survives and has a small original tower entirely contained with it on the north , and a square gatehouse on the east . The inner court is entered by an arch on the east side beside the rectangular Mansell Tower ( an enlargement of the original keep ) . The north - western range is of the early 16th century ; the north - eastern range is of the late 15th century ; the late 15th century Great Hall is on the south side of the court . Beside it , squeezed in between the inner and outer curtain walls , is the Bradenstoke Hall , consisting of the inner curtain wall on the north side , the somewhat realigned outer curtain wall on the south , with a modern wall on the east end built at the point so that an early 14th century roof ( brought from Bradenstoke Abbey in Wiltshire ) would fit . The western range has largely been replaced by a much larger , three - storey building ( which necessitated , when erected , the demolition of the western part of the outer curtain wall ) . Its ground floor is a large modern dining hall with a very fine 15th century roof , probably Flemish in origin but imported from Boston Stump Church ( Lincolnshire ) . The Lady Anne Tower on the south - western corner of the castle has been rebuilt many times . Ownership . The earliest surviving parts of the castle ( the keep and what is now the inner curtain wall ) were built in the late 12th century by the de Hawey family . Ownership passed to the Stradling family in 1298 through the marriage of Sir Peter Stradling to Joan de Hawey . The Stradlings built the outer gatehouse and curtain wall around 1300 ; they enlarged the keep and inner gatehouse and modified the inner curtain wall at the same time , and built the inner court around 200 years later . The Stradling family ( which included a notable recusant , a well - known antiquary and a Latin poet ) owned St Donat ' s Castle until the death of Sir Thomas Stradling in 1738 , when ownership of the castle passed to Sir John Tyrwhitt . Archbishop James Ussher resided there for a time during the Civil War . Thereafter , the castle fell into a state of disrepair . Partial restoration was started by Dr John Whitlock Nicholl Carne , who claimed to be descended from the Stradlings , and had bought the castle from the Tyrwhitt - Drake family in 1862 . Morgan Williams , the owner from 1901 to 1909 , carried out extensive and careful restoration . Godfrey Williams , Morgan ' s son , sold the castle to Richard Pennoyer , an American , in 1922 . After seeing photographs of the castle in " Country Life " magazine , the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst bought it in 1925 . Hearst spent a fortune renovating and revitalising the castle , bringing electricity not only to his residence but also to the surrounding area . The locals enjoyed having Hearst in residence at the castle ; he paid his employees very well , and his arrivals always created a big stir in a community not used to American excesses . Hearst spent much of his time entertaining influential people at his estates . He is renowned for holding lavish parties at St Donat ' s ; guests included Charlie Chaplin , Douglas Fairbanks , and a young John F . Kennedy . Upon visiting St Donat ' s , George Bernard Shaw was quoted as saying : " This is what God would have built if he had had the money . " Hearst ' s newspaper empire fell on hard times in the later 1930s ; the castle was put up for sale but requisitioned for use by British and American troops during the war . Hearst died in 1951 and the castle was bought in 1962 by Monsieur Antonin Besse II ( 1927 - ) , son of the late Sir Antonin Besse ( 1877 – 1951 ) , and given to the Governing Body of Atlantic College . Monsieur Antonin Besse II is a Patron and Honorary Vice President of the United World Colleges . Residential sixth form college . The castle now houses Atlantic College , an international Sixth Form College founded in 1962 as the first of the thirteen United World Colleges . St Donat ' s Arts Centre . Within the castle grounds lies St Donat ' s Arts Centre , housed in a 14th - century tithe barn which has been converted to a professionally equipped theatre , together with a contrasting new addition of the " Glass Room " . This offers stunning views across the sea towards Exmoor to create " one of the most inspired and inspiring public buildings in Wales " . The centre provides a varied programme of cinema , exhibitions , festivals and live shows . Hauntings . St Donat ' s Castle is associated with the ghost of Lady Stradling , whom tradition says was murdered and whose appearance predicted a death in the Stradling family . Further reading . " St Donat ' s Castle – a guide and brief history " , Alan Hall , Atlantic College , 2002 " St Donats Castle " in " Haunted Castles " , Marc Alexander , Frederick Muller Limited , 1974 , ISBN 0 - 584 - 10112 - 0 , pp . 233 – 234