A GRADE-II listed building in Newport has been put on the market.

Pencoed Castle in Llanmartin is available on auction at a guide price of £950,000.

According to auction house Allsopp, there is planning permission to restore the castle, convert the outbuildings to offices and develop 12 new dwellings and there is potential for further redevelopment.

In 2016, millionaire owner of the castle Peter Morgan murdered escort Georgina Symonds in a bungalow in the castle grounds. Morgan, 54, was sentenced to life in prison for the killing.

The former farmhouse is made up of three residential flats and a separate two-bedroom detached bungalow. The bungalow and two of the flats are on assured shorthold tenancies.

The castle itself and the remaining flat in the farmhouse are vacant.

South Wales Argus:

Pencoed Castle. Picture: Allsop

The site also includes 23.21 acres of land, for which there is a farm business tenancy which expires on November 30, 2020.

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The main castle was owned by the Morgan’s of Tredegar in the 15th century and it was redeveloped by Sir Thomas Morgan around that time, but the moat and round south west tower are thought to be remnants of a castle dated as far back as 1270 according to CastleWales.com.

In around 1701, after passing through the Morgan family, the property was sold to John Jeffreys who was an MP at the time. It passed through several different owners in the 1700s and became more run-down before being let out to farmers.

In 1914, Lord Rhondda purchased the property with intent to restore it to its former glory. He began work to restore the main building but died in 1918, with his widow commissioning Chepstow architect Eric Francis to build a new house on the grounds. It was sold a few years later and became used as a farmhouse.

South Wales Argus:

Pencoed Castle. Picture: Allsop.

It was granted Grade II-listed status in 1952. An episode of The Adventures of Robin Hood was filmed at Pencoed Castle in the mid-1950s, and a decade later, the bungalow was built, although the castle itself continued to be left derelict.

There were plans for a golf course and hotel to be built in 1989 but this, as well as the Disney-style theme park were not granted planning permission.