Freedom of Information Request - Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rhum
Date: 09 October 2025
Our ref: SIR181711/A5485763
Information Request – Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rhum
Your Request
1. ‘The original valuations of the property when bought from the Bulloch family
2. The agreed conditions of the transfer, of the island the castle.
3. The original or oldest Inventory of contents of the castle. ‘
Our Response
Question 1 & 2
Sir George Bullough died in 1939, leaving the castle and island in trust with his wife Lady Monica Bullough. Lady Monica thereafter lived in the castle off and on, then sold it (island, castle and contents) on to The Nature Conservancy (NC) in 1957 for £23,000, roughly 89p per acre. Rum then became a National Nature Reserve. The NC later became the Nature Conservancy Council in 1973 and later combined in 1992 with the Countryside Commission for Scotland to form Scottish Natural Heritage, our predecessor. We rebranded as NatureScot in 2019 however our statutory name remains Scottish Natural Heritage.
The relevant Disposition by The Trustees of Sir George Bullough in favour of The Nature
Conservancy is attached separately.
There was also a Minute of Agreement entered into between Dame Monica Bullough and The Nature Conservancy dated 06 and 17 December 1957, as part of the acquisition of Rum, which dealt with moveable items in Kinloch Castle, a copy of this is attached separately.
This gifted to The Nature Conservancy "the whole furniture, carpets, curtains, pictures (excepting the portrait of Lady Bullough by Hughes which is to remain in its present position in Kinloch Castle [unless directed otherwise]), floor coverings, linen, cutlery, ornaments china and others and in general the whole furnishing and plenishings within Kinloch Castle and premises and in the White House". From this however there was excepted the items listed in the Schedule, which were to be handed to the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh for preservation and exhibition.
Excepting those specific items listed within the Minute of Agreement everything within Kinloch Castle is narrated as being transferred as a straightforward gift to The Nature Conservancy, with no attached obligations beyond the gift being referred to as "The Sir George Bullough Memorial", and The Nature Conservancy being obliged to pay any tax duties which may have fallen due as a result of that gift.
Question 3
There is no record of any formal inventory being received at the time of the disposition. Our earliest known record of any confirmed, itemised Castle inventory is from 1978, and a copy of this document is attached separately.
We have marked out (redacted) financial information in the castle inventory under FOISA Section 33(1)(b) (Commercial interests and the economy). There is a strong public interest in openness and transparency. However, on balance, the successful sale of the castle should not unduly prejudiced by the release of commercially sensitive information.
We have also redacted personal data within the document provided. Releasing this personal data into the public domain in response to an access to information request would breach the Data Protection Act 2018. We are therefore withholding the information under FOISA section 38(1)(b) (Personal data).
Review and Appeal
I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.
If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer,
NatureScot
