Dr Rachael Purse

Historian & Built Heritage Professional

About Rachael Purse

Cultural Historian and Built Heritage professional based in Scotland. My varied research interests include Women's History, Building Conservation, Architectural History and Dress History.

Front cover of The Mack by Dr Robyne Calvert.

Book Release: The Mack: Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow School of Art by Dr Robyne Calvert

Stained glass in The Mackintosh Building.

I am thrilled that my research on the restoration of Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh Building is referenced in 'The Mack: Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow School of Art ', published by Yale University Press and written by Dr Robyne Calvert, my PhD Supervisor and friend.

'The Mack' was published on 23rd April 2024 and is available from all good bookshops.

Professional Memberships & Qualifications

Associate Member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservators

IHBC Associate, accredited in conservation practice that generates change in the built and historic environment.

MSc in Museum Studies: Dress & Textile Histories

Graduated with an MSc from the University of Glasgow in 2014. My elective specialism was dress and textile histories, and my dissertation focused on the use of dress in protests by Scottish Suffragettes and Suffragists.

PhD in Building Conservation & Architectural History

Recipient of the Bringing Back the Mack PhD Scholarship which was funded by Glasgow School of Art and Historic Environment Scotland. Between 2016-2020 I was tasked with providing a critical academic analysis of the fires of 2014 and 2018, and the subsequent restoration of the Mackintosh Building.