Why we love Pollok House

Transcript

6 speakers: Sam Gallacher, Laurel, Andrew Eadie, Nan Steel, Rory Bathgate, Dougie Lachlan

[Sam]
Welcome to Pollok House in Glasgow.
I'm Sam Gallagher. I'm Operations Manager for the Glasgow and Ben Lomond cluster, and Pollok House is our flagship property for the city.

Pollok House is Glasgow's country house.
We’re here in the largest green space in the city in the Southside of Glasgow.
It's a story not just of one family but of an entire community, the Stirling-Maxwell family and their relationship to the city, but also the cultural life of Glasgow.

Pollok House means a great deal to the National Trust for Scotland.
In 1931 the organisation was actually founded here in our Cedar Room by Sir John Stirling Maxwell and a number of his friends.

At Pollok House we've got a fantastic team of volunteers and staff members.
We've got people working in conservation, in housekeeping, front-of-house, we've got facilities, we've got gardeners.
It's a big team with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm and a real pride in Pollok House and the National Trust for Scotland.

One great thing about Pollok House is that we are right in the centre of such a popular park.
People come and grab a coffee, they grab a scone.
We've got a lovely tea garden, a beautiful Edwardian café.
It’s a great place to spend some time with your family as you're out on your afternoon walk.

[Laurel]
I'm Laurel. I'm a House Guide here at Pollok House.
I actually remember visiting Pollok House when I was younger and seeing all the artwork and people in costumes on costumed events.
I've always been interested in history, so when I started studying art history at uni
it was from there on I just really wanted to work here and be involved.

Definitely come and visit! The gardens are beautiful, the park's beautiful, the house is beautiful, and just the story about the family and also the servants' corridor downstairs is really interesting as well.

[Andrew]
I'm Andrew Eadie and I started volunteering as a guide at Pollok House a month ago.
I enjoy how you see both the upstairs and the downstairs, particularly with the range of what you can see downstairs, as it really demonstrates how a whole family lived together with the servants.
So often in country houses, you just see the upstairs and very little of the downstairs has actually survived, so it's really good at Pollok House that you can actually visit and get a feel for how the servants lived.

[Nan]
My name is Nan Steel and for many, many years I have been a guide here at Pollok House, starting off with Glasgow Museums, moving onto staff, and then after retiring, back as a volunteer again -- such is my love of Pollok House.

I just love old houses!
I love the area -- there's a lot of history.
And I love engaging with the public.
I always feel if I wake up in the morning and I think I don't want to go to Pollok House, I'll stop coming.
Well, it hasn't happened yet!

[Rory]
I'm Rory. I work for Pollok House and I've worked here for just over three years now, and I absolutely love it, which I'm not just saying -- I genuinely love it!
I've always wanted to work for the Trust.
My grandparents used to take me to all the properties when I was younger, and when I got the job here, I didn't really know what I was walking into -- but I love it! It's great.

One of the most popular things that we do here is the scones because they're home-made every day fresh and they are genuinely delicious.
There’s people that have gone to every café in Glasgow and they still think ours is the best.

[Dougie]
My name's Dougie Lachlan.
I’m one of the volunteer guides in the gallery.
What I love about Pollok House is the fact that there is a mood and a feel and a warmth of the people when you come here, when you visit here.
From the staff in the canteen and in the fantastic café that we've got down here, but also to the visiting staff -- those who check you in, make sure that you’re a Trust member or indeed guide you up the stairs into all the artefacts and the collections that we have.
So, I think one thing that I take home from here is the warmth of the people.

[Sam]
What I love most about Pollok House is probably how the gardens and the architecture work so well together.
There are these beautiful parterre terraces and just the way the library doors open up into what we call the knot garden, and the rich colours between the spines of the books and the planting that goes into the beds is just a beautiful thing to see all year round.

Pollok House is the beating heart of the National Trust for Scotland in Glasgow.