About

A photo of Dr Rachael Purse and Dr Karen Mailley in St. Andrews in the Square, Glasgow.

A photograph of Dr Robyne Calvert, Dr Carolyn Alexander and Dr Rachael Purse. Wearing PPE in the Mackintosh Building.

I spent my childhood visiting museums and heritage sites across Scotland and devouring Horrible Histories books. My love of history then led me to study Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Glasgow, where I took every opportunity to study women's histories. My undergraduate dissertation reflected my childhood interests and my burgeoning passion for architectural history, focusing on Scottish Renaissance Palaces.

My next step was my MSc in Museum Studies, with a specialism in Dress & Textile Histories. My dissertation explored the ways in which Suffragettes and Suffragists in Scotland used dress as a form of protest. During my Masters, I completed an internship at Glasgow City Heritage Trust (GCHT), creating an exhibition on the city's Victorian and Edwardian Swimming Baths. Another internship with GCHT followed, in collaboration with the Scottish Stained Glass Trust, establishing an online database of stained glass in Scotland. Over the next few years, I worked on several projects at GCHT, including the Statues & Monuments Project, Glasgow's Gilded Age Project, and GCHT's Traditional Building Repair Grants.

Whilst working at GCHT, I met Karen Mailley, now Dr Mailley, with whom I formed History Girls Scotland. We have had many adventures together, and although we began our PhD studies at different times and were researching different subjects, our Viva's were held at the same time on the very same day, kismet!

In 2016, I was the incredibly lucky recipient of the 'Bringing Back the Mack' PhD Scholarship, funded by the Glasgow School of Art and Historic Environment Scotland. I was supported through this opportunity by my friend and PhD Supervisor, Dr Robyne Calvert and Dr Ewan Hyslop. I passed my Viva in 2020 and graduated in 2022. You can find out more about my work on the project and my research here.

Since 2020, I have been the Grants & Outreach Officer at Stirling City Heritage Trust, where no two days are the same and I get to work on a variety of interesting projects. I moved to the Trossachs in 2021 with my husband and we live in a wee cottage built in 1797.

My current research interests include the life and works of Scotland's first women architects.