In its heyday, with its electric lighting, state-of the-art showers and rare orchestrion, this onc- luxurious late Victorian retreat was frequented by aristocrats and royalty.
But, after years of neglect, the crumbling treasure house that is Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rum is in such a sad state of decline that it remains closed to the public.
Now Kinloch Castle Friends Association (KCFA) has revealed that it is in new talks about its restoration plans with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).
The association said at the end of last year that it would appeal an SNH decision to reject the application for asset transfer of the A-listed Scottish baronial mansion, which was built by Lancashire mill owner Sir George Bullough.
However, Catherine Duckworth, association secretary, has revealed that, following fresh talks with the government bodies, they will not be going through the lengthy appeals procedure and feel positive there is a new way forward.
Having taken advice from SNH and HES, Mrs Duckworth said the group was hoping to bid to become the castle’s beneficial owner – a legal title which means it would be responsible for raising the £6.9 million to fund the first stage of the restoration plans for the landmark and its contents.
“It’s all been a bit of a roller coaster,” she said.
“You think it’s going OK and then it’s not, but we are now pursuing the beneficial ownership route and looking for funding from various outside sources.
“We had a meeting with Historic Environment Scotland and they were really very supportive and said that in the last two years we have moved things along enormously by showing that the castle was repairable, that there could be a future for it that was viable.”
She added: “For years they have talked about Kinloch Castle being Scots baronial but HES have now said it is important for different reasons, after all this time.
“There are examples there of art nouveau and the Arts and Crafts Movement, which was a recognition of the individuality of the 19th century, of making things by hand.
“Kinloch has beautiful stained glass windows and brass door plates.”
One report to SNH had estimated that it would take up to £13 million to restore the building.
But reports for the friends group show that initial work to make it wind and watertight, and renew the 52-bed accommodation in the old castle hostel, would cost around £6.9m.
Representatives of the association are meeting with Scottish and Westminster politicians to see what help they can give to the plans.
A working party of 22 group members will meet at the castle at the end of next month to discuss the next step.
- READ MORE: Friends buyout plan to save one of Prince Charles' favourite Scots castles from demolition
Commenting on the proposals, a spokesperson for Historic Environment Scotland said: “We have been involved in discussions with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Kinloch Castle Friends Association about options for the future of Kinloch Castle.
“We recently met with the Kinloch Castle Friends Association to provide them with advice on funding and to suggest other bodies who can provide more specific advice on putting together an alternative project proposal.”
The spokesperson added: “Kinloch Castle is category A -listed as a nationally-important example of late Victorian architecture and we look forward to continuing these discussions about finding a future for it.”
A spokeswoman for SNH said: “We look forward to continuing discussions with KCFA to look at new ways to secure Kinloch Castle’s future. “We are committed to working together to create greater economic development opportunities for Rum and its residents.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here