Kinloch Castle, built by industrialist Sir George Bullough, has stood
for over 120 years on the Isle of Rùm in the Inner Hebrides in Scotland.
The impressive building is a time capsule from the era of Edward VII,
with its original furnishings and numerous objects of art.

An orchestrion by Imhof & Mukle is among the most striking among these.
It was built around 1900 and was bought from the London showroom of
Imhof & Mukle's by George Bullough. He had it installed in his new
castle under the staircase, where it still stands today. The instrument
is now at risk, in poor condition and in urgent need of restoration.

Kinloch Castle is owned by NatureScot, the Scottish Nature Conservancy.
It no longer has any need for the listed building which is to be sold
and thus saved for the future. Unfortunately, the whole thing keeps
getting delayed, to the detriment of the castle and the whole island.

Until before the pandemic, Kinloch Castle could be visited on guided
tours by visitors to the island, but unfortunately this has not been
possible since. The building is hardly ever entered and suffers
accordingly as time passes.

In the early 1970s, the then castle manager Patrick Banks restored
the instrument and made sound recordings of some of the rolls. Digital
copies of these recordings can be heard at the Kinloch Castle - Isle of
Rum Topotheque, run by KCFA, the Kinloch Castle Friends Association.
The search term Orchestrion leads to the sound recordings as well as
photos of the instrument:

https://kinlochcastle-isleofrum.topotheque.net/ 

https://kinlochcastle-isleofrum.topotheque.net/#ipp=100&p=1&searchterm=Orchestrion&t=1%2C2%2C3%2C4%2C5%2C6%2C7&sf=chk_docname%2Cchk_mainkeywords%2Cchk_subkeywords&vp=false&sort=publish_date&sortdir=desc 

Anyone who recognises the tunes can enter this information via the
website to help us catalogue it. Kinloch Castle Friends Association
(KCFA) is hoping to create international interest in this instrument
in its original location. Enquiries to NatureScot may help put up the
pressure to look after the orchestrion.

There is another mechanical musical instrument in the castle,
a Sympletta reproducing piano in a mahogany case with about 25 rolls.
Information about this instrument and brand is also very welcome.

Thomas Krebs - Kinloch Castle Friends Association (KCFA)
topothek@bluewin.ch.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply]

 [ https://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/23/10/24/231024_031739_Kinloch%20Castle%20OrchestrionP7311115.JPG 

 [ Kinloch Castle Friends' Association (KCFA) is a registered
 [ charitable organisation set up in 1996. Ref.
 [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinloch_Castle 
 [ More information at
 [ https://kinlochcastlefriends.org/ 
 [ https://kinlochcastlefriends.org/orchestrion/ 
 [ https://kinlochcastle-isleofrum.topotheque.net/index.php?doc=956551 
 [
 [ "Sympletta" was a brand name owned by the Simplex Player Actions Co.
 [ of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
 [
 [ I listened to several of the tunes at the long URL above. The organ
 [ sounds very good, indeed, and was well recorded. Kudos to 1970s
 [ restorer Patrick Banks. -- Robbie