Kinloch Castle

Scottish Victorian mansion

Kinloch Castle (Caisteal Cheann Locha) is an Edwardian mansion located on Kinloch, on the island of Rùm, one of the Small Isles off the west coast of Scotland. It was built as a private residence for Sir George Bullough, a textile tycoon from Lancashire whose father bought Rùm as his summer residence and shooting estate. Construction began in 1897, and was completed in 1900. Built as a luxurious retreat, Kinloch Castle has since declined. The castle and island are now owned by NatureScot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage), who operated part of the castle as a hostel until 2015. The Kinloch Castle Friends Association was established in 1996 to secure the long term future of the building. Kinloch Castle is protected as a category A listed building, and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.

Rùm was owned by Alexander Maclean of Coll in the early 19th century. At that time, during the Napoleonic Wars, kelp from the Scottish islands was a valuable commodity, being used to produce soda ash for use in explosives. After the war, prices collapsed and Maclean was forced to lease the island to a relative, Lachlan Maclean, for sheep farming. As a result, the entire population, which counted 443 people in 1795, were cleared from the island by 1828, only for new tenants to be brought in from Skye and Muck to service the sheep farm. He then commissioned a London firm of architects, Leeming & Leeming, to design a luxurious new house. Work on Kinloch Castle began in 1897, employing 300 men from Eigg and Lancashire. The house was built in a castellated Tudor style, using red sandstone from the Isle of Arran. It had its own electricity supply, and also had modern plumbing, heating and telephone systems. Kinloch Castle was completed in 1900, at a total cost of £250,000, Formal and informal gardens, including a water garden, Japanese garden, bowling green and golf course, were laid out by 1912, using topsoil imported from Ayrshire. A walled garden with glasshouses was erected, which also briefly housed alligators. During the Boer War, Bullough lent his yacht Rhouma as a hospital ship, bringing wounded soldiers back to Kinloch Castle. For this service he was knighted in 1901.

The island was purchased by the Nature Conservancy, a government agency with responsibility for natural heritage, for £23,000, Funds were sought for an £8 million scheme to restore the castle, however this scheme did not progress.

Kinloch Castle is now managed by Scottish Natural Heritage, supported by the Kinloch Castle Friends' Association, a registered charitable organisation set up in 1996. A number of repairs were carried out in 2010 and 2011, although the long term future of the building remains uncertain. Tours of the castle continue to be available, timed to coincide with ferries where possible. Highlights of the tour include the under stairs orchestrion and a variety of gifts from the Emperor of Japan. A section at the rear of the castle was operated as a hostel for visitors to the island. Guests had a choice of bunk rooms, or could upgrade to one of a handful of "Oak Rooms" with four poster beds. The hostel area was kept separate from the museum rooms of the castle. The hostel closed in 2015. In 2017 the Kinloch Castle Friends' Association began to examine the possibility of creation of a Community Interest Company to take over the running the Castle from SNH. In March 2018, the association decided to formally apply for an asset transfer of the castle and policies and to negotiate the transfer of the contents of the castle. The initial aim is to reopen the hostel accommodation in order to generate income to help to support the castle whilst external funding is sought for more major restoration work. In June 2022, businessman Jeremy Hosking announced his intention of purchasing the castle subject to planning permission for the restoration of the building and its conversion to visitor accommodation. In March 2023, he withdrew his purchase offer after the Scottish government put the sale on hold because of concerns raised by the Isle of Rum Community Trust.