Rùm

A site near Kinloch known as Farm Fields provides some of the earliest known evidence of human occupation in Scotland. Carbonized hazelnut shells found there have been dated to the Mesolithic period at 7700-7500 BC.[30][note 1]; at this time the landscape was dominated by alder, hazel and willow scrub.[31] A beach site above Loch Scresort has been dated to between 6500 and 5500 BC. The presence of this hunter-gatherer community may have been to take advantage of the local supplies of bloodstone, a workable material for the making of tools and weapons. There is a shell-midden at Papadil in the south and evidence of tidal fish traps at both Kinloch and Kilmory.[32]

Examination of peat cores and pollen records indicates that soil erosion (suggesting clearance of woodland for agricultural purposes) was taking place in 3470 BC (the early Neolithic era); much later, from 2460 BC, evidence of arable cultivation exists.[33] As the climate became damper, peat expanded its coverage at the expense of woodland, and post-glacial sea level changes left raised beaches around the coastline 18–45 metres above the present sea-level, especially between Harris and A'Bhrideanach;[34] Bronze Age artefacts, such as barbed-and-tanged arrowheads typical of the Beaker People, have been found in the machair which replaced it[note 2].

Loch Papadil. The promontory fort is to the right[note 3]

There are prehistoric fort sites at promontories near Kilmory, Papadil and Glen Shellesder of uncertain date.[35] These primarily consist of a wall dividing the promontory from the rest of the island, but at Kilmory, there is also a rampart with a hollow containing the traces of an interior structure. At Shellesder, the promontory contains the remains of three round stone-walled huts, one of which integrates with the dividing wall. A small number of cairns, again of uncertain date, are also located along the coast[note 4].

In the 6th and seventh century, Irish missionary activity led by Columba established a Christian presence in the region. Beccan of Rùm (previously a monk at Iona) may have lived on the island (at Papadil), for four decades from 632 AD, his death being recorded in the Annals of Ulster in 677. He is known to have been conservative on doctrinal matters and surviving examples of his poetry suggest a passionate personality.[36] He wrote of Columba:

In scores of curraghs with an army of wretches he crossed the long-haired sea.

He crossed the wave-strewn wild region,

Foam flecked, seal-filled, savage, bounding, seething, white-tipped, pleasing, doleful.[37]

The inscribed pillar near Bagh na h-Uamha

Simple stone pillars, over 4.5 feet tall, have been found at Kilmory and Bagh na h-Uamha ('bay of the cave'), and may date from this period.[38] The latter pillar in particular is inscribed with a slim cross having strong similarities to a motif in the late 6th century Cathach of St. Columba. The other pillar – at Kilmory – is slimmer (being 9" wide, rather than 1'4"), but is inscribed with a more elaborate design, resembling a globus cruciger sat in a chalice; on the back is a simple Latin Cross.

Deeply fractured coastline

From 833, Norse settlers established the Kingdom of the Isles throughout the Hebrides. Despite being a dependency of the Norwegian king, practical authority rested with the MacSorley, following a revolt by their ancestor, Somerled; the strip from Uist to the Rough Bounds, which contained the Small Isles, was ruled by the MacRory branch of the MacSorley.[39][40][41][42][43][44] The only archaeological evidence of a Norse presence on Rùm, to date, is a piece of carved narwhal ivory[note 5], dating from the MacRory era, which served as a playing token / draughtsman[4][note 6].

In 1266, the Treaty of Perth transferred the Kingdom of the Isles to the Scottish king. At the turn of the century, William I had created the position of Sheriff of Inverness, to be responsible for the Scottish highlands, which theoretically now extended to Garmoran;[45][46] nevertheless, the treaty expressly preserved the power of local rulers, turning the MacRory lands into the Lordship of Garmoran, a quasi-independent crown dependency, rather than an intrinsic part of Scotland.

After nearly a century, the sole MacRory heir was Amy of Garmoran, who married John of Islay,[4] leader of the MacDonalds, the most powerful branch of the MacSorley. A decade later, they divorced, and John deprived his eldest son, Ranald, of the ability to inherit the MacDonald lands; as compensation, John granted Lordship of the Uists to Ranald's younger brother Godfrey, and made Ranald Lord of the remainder of Garmoran, including Rùm.[44]

Loch Fiachanis in the interior, looking towards the Cuillin

In 1380, shortly after it was acquired by Ranald, John of Fordun indicates that Rùm was "a wooded and hilly island" "with excellent sport, but few inhabitants".[47] It is possible that during the early medieval period the island was used as a hunting reserve by the nobility;[48] in Gaelic it was referred to as Rìoghachd na Forraiste Fiadhaich — "the kingdom of the wild forest".[14]

However, on Ranald's death, Godfrey seized Garmoran, leading to an enormous amount of violence between him and Ranald's heirs (Clan Ranald)[note 7]. In 1427, frustrated with the level of violence, King James I demanded that highland leaders should attend a meeting at Inverness. On arrival, many of the leaders were seized and imprisoned; after a quick show trial of Godfrey's heir[49], and in view of Clan Ranald being no less responsible for the violence, King James declared the Lordship of Garmoran forfeit.

The slopes of Orval

Following the forfeiture, most of Garmoran remained with the Scottish crown until 1469, when James III granted Lairdship of it to John of Ross, the new MacDonald leader, who passed it to his own half-brother, Hugh of Sleat. Clan Ranald objected to the transfer to Hugh, and appear to have retained some level of physical possession, regardless of whether they any legal authority to do so[note 8]. The status of Rùm during this period is unclear, as surviving records do not mention it as part of Hugh's possessions.

Alexander, the previous MacDonald leader, had made land grants to the eldest and youngest sons of Lachlan MacLean, grandson of Alexander's aunt[note 9]. John Garbh (the youngest son) now obtained Rùm (possibly, Alexander had quitclaimed it to him); like Hugh's gains, Clan Ranald objected to this transfer.[50] Traditional accounts claim that John Garbh purchased a quitclaim of Clan Ranald rights from their leader, Allan[note 10], by giving them a galley; though the galley looked in good quality, the interior (so the legend says) was rotten, hence explaining Clan Ranald's refusal to accept John Garbh's ownership of Rùm.[51] John Garbh subsequently seized Allan, and held him prisoner on Coll for 9 months;[51] presumably Allan was only released once he had agreed to acknowledge the exchange.[51]

Red deer on Kilmory Beach

In 1493, John Garbh's heirs (the MacLeans of Coll) became direct vassals of the king, as a result of John MacDonald's realm becoming forfeit. This brought them into conflict with the heirs of John Garbh's elder brother (the MacLeans of Duart), who believed themselves to be the leaders of all MacLeans. In 1549 Donald Munro, conducting a survey, noted that although the island "pertained" to Coll it "obeys instantlie" to Duart,[13] a situation that continued for some time.

Munro also reported that, at the time, Rùm was highly forested, with an abundance of deer.[13] Munro goes on to argue that the best way of slaying the deer would be when they are moving uphill (when gravity is against them), their principal home being in the heights.[13] Contemporary with Munro, substantial stone walls were built in the glens to funnel deer into pens[note 11].

When Lachlan Mor became leader of the MacLeans of Duart, he pursued the feud with vigour. In 1588, he had the fortune for some remains of the Spanish Armada to arrive in his lands (Mull); Lachlan offered them refuge in return for a supply of 100 soldiers. So it was that in 1588 Lachlan Mor attacked the Small Isles with the aid of Spaniards, and slaughtered its population, sparing neither women nor children. Rùm's character as a hunting reserve, and the low numbers of its former population, meant that there was little long-term impact, once Rùm was repopulated. A contemporary, Skene, noted that

Romb is ane Ile of small profit, except that it conteins mony deir, and for sustentation thairof the same is permittit unlabourit, except twa townis. It is... all hillis and waist glennis, and commodious only for hunting of deir... and will raise 6 or 7 men.[note 12][53]

The king imprisoned Lachlan (in Edinburgh) for his actions[note 13], but he escaped, and faced no further punishment[note 14]. A later report for the king indicated that the island was repopulated by members of Clan Ranald[55][56]

The MacLeans of Rùm and of Duart were mild supporters of the Scottish reformation, remaining Episcopalian, rather than becoming Presbyterian, and consequently the Roman Catholic church thought them susceptible to re-conversion. In 1622, the Irish church sent Cornelius Ward[note 15], a Franciscan friar, to bring Roman Catholicism back into the MacLean lands. Arriving on Rùm in 1625, Cornelius reported that it only had three villages;[57] a few decades earlier the much smaller nearby island of Muck was recorded as having twice as many able men, suggesting that Rùm's population had been deliberately constrained.[57]

Cornelius had no luck with the MacLean leadership, who remained Episcopalian, but the (small) population of Rùm does appear to have become Roman Catholic again. In the rest of the nation, Covenanters gradually gained political control. Coll (along with the lands of the MacLeans of Duart) was under the shrieval authority of the sheriff of Argyll; under pressure from the Earl of Argyll, one of the most powerful Covenanter leaders, shrieval authority over Rùm was transferred from Inverness to the Argyll sheriff, which was under the control of the Earl's family.

Open expanse, near Kilmory, historically the main settlement

In later generations, the lairds themselves became Presbyterian, preventing the island from becoming involved in the Jacobite risings, but it did ultimately bring a minor dispute to the island. In 1726, Presbyterianism was established in Rùm, quickly taking hold of the island's population (there were only around 150 people living on Rùm at the time). Nevertheless, Rùm had no permanent Protestant minister, and when one visited, he was obliged to conduct sermons in the open air, there being no church building.

Half a century later, when visiting the wider region, Dr. Johnson was told that the laird[note 16] had hit one of the tenants across the back with a gold-tipped cane, as punishment for going to Roman Catholic mass, threatening the same treatment for any others who did so. The Roman Catholic population of Eigg, an adjacent island, facetiously called Rùm's Protestantism The Religion of the Yellow Stick.

Mountain goat at Loch Scresort

The introduction of the potato as a food crop, in the 18th century, led to a rapid expansion of demand for arable land, which the populace also planted with barley. The increased health and fecundity this brought, and the lack of further wars, led to a population expansion;[58] by 1801 there were nine hamlets on the island.

In turn, the increased demand for work led to new sources of income. Black cattle were raised for export to the mainland, and (more unusually) goats were kept by the inhabitants, the hair being sent to Glasgow and made into wigs for export to America.[59] The economy was in no small part dependent on the bounty of the sea; Edward Clarke, visiting in 1797 dined on:

....milk, oatcakes and Lisbon wine. I was surprised to find wine of that species, and of a superior quality in such a hut, but they told us it was part of the freight of some unfortunate vessel wrecked near the island.[60]

However, local agriculture was comparatively primitive,[61] and the lack of lime restricted the ability to tan leather, or construct sophisticated buildings;[62] the island was no more valuable than the much much smaller island of Muck.[61] Furthermore, the new demands on the land had reduced the great forest island into an essentially treeless landscape[note 17];[63] by the end of the century, this had caused the extinction of the native red deer (Cervus elaphus).[64]

The increase in the price of kelp[note 18], as a result of the Napoleonic Wars[note 19], was the only thing keeping Rùm's economy afloat.[65] Inevitably, when the Napoleonic Wars ended, the kelp price collapsed, causing severe financial hardship. The laird himself was in additional difficulties as a result of having purchased the Isle of Muck during the peak of demand for kelp. He decided to evict the tenants, and lease the whole island to a relative, Dr Lachlan Maclean.

Ruins of a village on Rùm

In keeping with the Highland Clearances that had swept Scotland since the 1750s, in 1825 the inhabitants of Rùm (then numbering some 450 people) were given a year's notice to quit[note 20]. The inhabitants of Rùm had simply been tenant farmers, paying rent to the laird; they owned neither the land they worked, nor the houses in which they lived. On 11 July 1826, about 300 of the inhabitants boarded two overcrowded ships[note 21] bound for Cape Breton in Nova Scotia[note 22]. The laird, and Dr Lachlan, paid for their journey. The remaining population followed in 1827[note 23].[66][67] Similar evictions happened all over the gaelic-speaking parts of Scotland, and collectively became known as the Highland Clearances. Harris was the largest settlement in the 18th century, which was cleared. It had 37 buildings.[68]

In 1827, when giving evidence to a government select committee on emigration, an agent of the laird was asked "And were the people willing to go?"; "Some of them", came the reply, "Others were not very willing, they did not like to leave the land of their ancestors".[69] Years later an eyewitness, a local shepherd, was more florid in his description of the events: "The people of the island were carried off in one mass, for ever, from the sea-girt spot where they were born and bred... The wild outcries of the men and heart-breaking wails of the women and children filled all the air between the mountainous shore of the bay".[70][71]

A shepherd's bothy[note 24], in a remote part of Rùm

Dr Lachlan turned Rùm into a sheep farm, with its population replaced by some 8,000 blackface sheep. So total had been the clearance that he was forced to import families to the island to act as shepherds[note 25]. However, the prosperity elsewhere in the UK led to traditional staples like mutton and wool being of less interest to consumers, and their price fell. In 1839 the price of mutton fell dramatically, bankrupting Dr Lachlan, and forcing him to leave. Ironically, in the words of one of the emigrees, Dr Lachlan, "the Curse and Scourge of the Highland Crofters" was now "much worse off than the comfortable people he turned out of Rùm 13 years previously".[72]

In 1844 the visiting geologist, Hugh Miller, wrote:

The single sheep farmer who had occupied the holdings of so many had been unfortunate in his speculations, and had left the island: the proprietor, his landlord seemed to have been as little fortunate as his tenant, for the island itself was in the market; and a report went current at the time that it was on the eve of being purchased by some wealthy Englishman, who purposed converting it into a deer forest. How strange a cycle![73]

Salisbury's lime-kiln

In 1845, the MacLean laird sold the island to the Marquess of Salisbury, who converted Rùm into an estate for country sports. The Marquis first built a pier at Kinloch, and adjacent limekiln, to help with this process, re-introducing deer, both Red and Fallow. He then passed the land to his son, Viscount Cranbourne, who was more interested in fishing.

Salisbury's dam

The main rivers of Rùm were essentially just trickling streams, so Cranbourne came up with a plan to increase the power of the Kinloch River, by diverting the other two. In 1849, he built a dam at the end of Loch Sgathaig, allowing him to diverting the overflow into the Kilmory River (northwards), rather than the Abhainn Rhangail (southwards). In 1852, he attempted to dam the Kilmory River, half a mile north of Loch Sgathaig, the plan being to send the overflow into the Kinloch River via a short canal; unfortunately Salisbury's Dam collapsed shortly after being built.

In 1870, the island was sold to Farquhar Campbell, from Aros, a man keen on Rùm's potential for shooting. In 1888, he decided to sell it; the sale prospectus described Rùm as "the most picturesque of the islands which lie off the west coast of Scotland" and "as a sporting estate it has at present few equals". According to the sale documents, the population was between 60 and 70, all either shepherds or estate workers and their families. There were no crofts on the island.[74]

In 1888 the island sold to John Bullough, a cotton machinery manufacturer (and self-made millionaire) from Accrington in Lancashire, who continued to use the island for recreational purposes. In the following year, counties were formally created in Scotland, on shrieval boundaries, by a dedicated Local Government Act; Rùm therefore became part of the new county of Argyll. When Bullough died in 1891 he was buried on Rùm, in a rock-cut mausoleum, under an octagonal stone tower. His heirs, however, felt that this was beneath his dignity, and demolished it, moving his sarcophagus into an elaborate mausoleum modelled as a Greek temple, built in 1892[75] and designed by William James Morley.[76] Argyll, similarly, was not thought fitting for Rùm, and that same year[note 26] was moved by boundary review to the county of Inverness, where Eigg already sat.

Kinloch Castle

John was succeeded as owner of Rùm by his son, George (later Sir George). George built Kinloch Castle in 1900 using sandstone quarried at Annan[77][note 27]. The interior boasted an orchestrion that could simulate the sounds of brass, drum and woodwind, an air-conditioned billiards room, and a jacuzzi. A dam was built on Coire Dubh burn for hydroelectric purposes; the house was the first private home in Scotland, outside of Glasgow, to have an electricity supply.

Bridge in the Castle grounds

At this time there were about 100 people employed on the estate. Fourteen under-gardeners, who were paid extra to wear kilts, worked on the extensive grounds that included a nine-hole golf course, tennis and squash courts, heated turtle and alligator ponds and an aviary including birds of paradise and humming birds. Soil for the grounds was imported from Ayrshire and figs, peaches, grapes and nectarines were grown in greenhouses.

This opulence could not be sustained indefinitely, and the Wall Street Crash badly damaged the family finances, decreasing their interest in, and visits to, Rùm. Sir George died in France, in July 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, and was interred in the family mausoleum on Rùm. His widow continued to visit Rùm as late as 1954. When in 1957 Lady Bullough sold the whole island, including the Castle and its contents, to the Nature Conservancy Council[note 28], on the understanding that it would be used as a national nature reserve,[4][80][81] the mausoleum was the only part of Rùm not included in the sale. Lady Bullough died in London, in 1967, at the age of 98; she was buried next to her husband in the Rùm mausoleum.

Red deer (Cervus elaphus)

The red deer population has been the subject of research for many years, recently under the leadership of Tim Clutton-Brock of the University of Cambridge.[83] These efforts are based at the remote bay of Kilmory in the north of the island. It has been important in the development of sociobiology and behavioural ecology, particularly in relation to the understanding of aggression through game theory. In November 2019 it was revealed that a 45-year study indicated that climate change had affected the gene pool of the red deer population on Rùm. Warmer temperatures resulted in deer giving birth on average three days earlier for each decade of the study. The gene which selects for earlier birth has increased in the population because hinds with the gene have more calves over their lifetime.[84]

Rùm ponies

The island has small herds of ponies, feral goats (Capra hircus) and Highland cattle. The pony herd, which now numbers about a dozen animals, was first recorded on the island in 1772, and in 1775 they were described as being "very small, but a breed of eminent beauty".[85] They are small in stature, averaging only 13 hands in height and all have a dark stripe down their backs and zebra stripes on their forelegs. These features have led to speculation that they may be related to primitive northern European breeds, although it is more likely that they originate from the western Mediterranean. It is sometimes claimed that they are descended from animals that travelled with the Spanish Armada, although it is probable that they arrived by more conventional means. The goat stocks were improved for stalking in the early 20th century and acquired a reputation for the size of their horns and the thickness of their fleeces. The flock of about 200 spends most of its time on the western sea cliffs. The native cattle were re-introduced in 1970, having been absent since the 19th century clearances. The herd of 30 grazes in the Harris area from September to June, and further north in Glen Shellesder in the summer months.[17][86][87]

Greylag Geese

The common cormorant

Rùm is also noted for its bird life. The population of 70,000 Manx shearwaters is one of the largest breeding colonies in the world. These migrating birds spend their winters in the South Atlantic off Brazil, and return to Rùm every summer to breed in burrows high in the Cuillin Hills. White-tailed sea eagles were exterminated on the island by 1912 and later became extinct in Scotland. A programme of reintroduction began in 1975, and within ten years 82 young sea eagles from Norway had been released. There is now a successful breeding population in the wild.[80]

There are brown trout, European eel and three-spined stickleback in the streams, and salmon occasionally run in the Kinloch River.[88] The only amphibian found on Rùm is the palmate newt and the only reptile native to Rùm is the common lizard. Invertebrates are diverse and have been studied there since 1884, numerous species of damsel fly, dragonfly, beetle, butterflies, moths etc. having been recorded. Several rare upland species are found on the ultrabasic slopes of Barkeval, Hallival and Askival including the ground beetles Leistus montanus and Amara quenseli. The midge (Culicoides impunctatus), a biting gnat, occurs in "unbelievable numbers".[89]

In October 2006 the popular Autumnwatch series on BBC television showed coverage of the deer rut at Kilmory Bay.[90]

A 1.5 hectare patch of brown earth soil at the abandoned settlement of Papadil is home to a thriving population of earthworms, which are rare in the elsewhere poor soil of the island.[91] Some individuals of Lumbricus terrestris have reached tremendous sizes, with the largest weighing 12.7 grams. This is speculated to be due to the good quality soil, and absence of predators.[92]

Mountain everlasting (on Rùm)

Thrift on a beach (on Rùm)

A tree nursery was established at Kinloch in 1960 in order to support a substantial programme of re-introducing twenty native species including silver birch, hawthorn, rowan and holly.[93] The forested area, which consists of over a million re-introduced native trees and shrubs, is essentially confined to the vicinity of Kinloch and the slopes near this site surrounding Loch Scresort and on nearby Meall á Ghoirtein.[4] The island's flora came to widespread attention with the 1999 publication of the book A Rum Affair by Karl Sabbagh, a British writer and television producer. The book told of a long-running scientific controversy over the alleged discovery of certain plants on Rùm by botanist John William Heslop-Harrison—discoveries that are now considered to be fraudulent. Heslop Harrison is widely believed to have placed many of these plants on the island himself to provide evidence for his theory about the geological development of the Hebridean islands.[94] Nonetheless, the native flora offers much of interest. There are rare arctic sandwort and alpine pennycress, endemic varieties of the heath spotted-orchid and eyebright, as well as more common species such as sundew, butterwort, blue heath milkwort and roseroot.[4] A total of 590 higher plant and fern taxa have been recorded.[95]

Rùm National Nature Reserve
IUCN category II (national park)[96]
Harris Bay
Location	Small Isles, Scotland
Area	108.4 km2 (41.9 sq mi)[97]
Established	1957[96]
Governing body	NatureScot
Rum National Nature Reserve

Rum has a number of national and international conservation designations for its spectacular natural and built heritage, including:

• Rum National Nature Reserve (NNR)
• Special Area of Conservation (SAC)[98]
• Special Protection Area (SPA)[99]
• Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)[100]
• 7 Geological Conservation Review (GCR) Sites
• Rum is within the Lochaber Geopark
• Falls within the Small Isles National Scenic Area (NSA)
• 19 scheduled monuments (SAMs)
• The national nature reserve is classified as a Category II protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[96]

• Cameron, Archie (1998) Bare Feet and Tackety Boots: A Boyhood on the Island of Rum. Luath Press. ISBN 0-946487-17-0.
• John A. Love (2001) Rum: A Landscape Without Figures. Edinburgh. Birlinn.
• Pearman, D.A.; Preston, C.D.; Rothero, G.P.; and Walker, K. J. (2008) The Flora of Rum. Truro. D.A. Pearman. ISBN 978-0-9538111-3-7
• Scott, Alastair (2018). Eccentric Wealth: The Bulloughs of Rum. Edinburgh: Birlinn. ISBN 978-1-912476-05-3.