Meggernie Castle in Perthshire, and in 1888 he bought Rùm for £35,000. His intention was to create a shooting reserve, and he introduced new stock of deer and game birds, as well as planting trees. When he died in 1891, his son George Bullough inherited, and built a mausoleum to his father on the island. The first mausoleum, decorated with ceramic tiles, was compared to a public toilet, and Bullough had it demolished, replacing it with the Doric temple which stands today. 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. A mechanical orchestrion, manufactured in Germany, was installed to provide music in the hall. Kinloch Castle was completed in 1900, at a total cost of £250,000, although further changes were made following Bullough's marriage in 1903. 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. Kinloch Castle was occupied by Bullough and his friends during the shooting season each year, but they visited less frequently after the First World War, and the estate was neglected. The island's population dwindled from 100 in 1900 to 28 in 1951. After Sir George Bullough's death in 1939, the castle and the island were held by trustees, who sold the estate in 1957, retaining only the family mausoleum. In 1967 Sir George's widow Monica was buried at the mausoleum, alongside her husband. Public ownership The island was purchased by the Nature Conservancy, a government agency with responsibility for natural heritage, for £23,000, and was designated a National Nature Reserve in line with Lady Bullough's wishes. Ownership of Rùm and Kinloch Castle passed to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) on its formation in 1992. The castle appeared on the BBC television series Restoration in 2003, as part of a bid for funds to restore the