Originally constructed in 1897 for the Bute Dock Company, which almost immediately became the Cardiff Railway Company. It was transferred to the Port of Cardiff in 1947, as part of the Nationalisation of the railways to form British Rail. Following privatisation, it eventually was acquired by the City of Cardiff, and then by the Welsh Assembly. Today, it is used as a museum to educate citizens and visitors about the Welsh government. The clock tower, often called "Little Big Ben," had its mechanism replaced in 1973, with the original mechanism eventually being displayed in Cardiff's city centre in 2011, at the corner of Wood Street and St. Mary's Street.