Jackie Bird on the Glasgow stories she uncovered for new podcast

Stick her in front of a microfiche in the Mitchell Library for hours on end, however, and this glamorous broadcaster who was the face of TV news for more than 30 years, will be just as happy, she admits.

“I LOVE history,” she says, fervently. “Always have. I didn’t go to university, but if I had, that’s what I would have done.

“My idea of a brilliant day out is the Mitchell Library. I get so lost in researching I’m practically being asked to vacuum the carpets before I leave.”

“And for the podcast, I get to do a deep dive into it all, it’s fantastic.”

Love Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland’s popular podcast, is back for a seventh season, hosted by journalist and former BBC Reporting Scotland anchor (and ex-Glasgow Times reporter) Jackie.

Jackie presented BBC Reporting Scotland for almost 30 years (Image: BBC)

This season, which runs until Dec 15, is packed with fascinating stories, including the intriguing tale of Glasgow's Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh and the Hill House, a beautiful property she designed with her husband Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

The Hill House in Helensburgh is considered the Mackintoshes’ domestic masterpiece, commissioned by Glasgow publisher Walter Blackie and built in 1900.

The Hill House (Image: Newsquest)

Weather has taken its toll on the property, however, and the walls are crumbling. NTS has embarked on a 10-year conservation programme, which will allow continued public access to the house.

Stage one opened to visitors in early June 2019, with a protective steel frame, featuring walkways around and over the top of the house.

The innovative box surrounding The Hill House (Image: Newsquest)

This ‘box’, along with a new visitor centre, offers views of the Hill House that have never been seen before, even by the Mackintoshes themselves.

“There are so many National Trust for Scotland properties, and so many people to talk about, but what I love is that these are not the headliners, the ones we all know,” explains Jackie.

“This is the brilliant supporting cast in Scotland’s history – like Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, not as famous as her husband, not as celebrated, but so interesting. She was a bit of an enigma, really.”

Jackie, who last year became the conservation charity’s first female president, says she wants to “spread the word” about the Trust.

Jackie is the first female president of the NTS (Image: NTS)

“I’d love to open it out to families, who maybe don’t realise these properties exist,” she says. “I’d love for more people to know the history of Scotland isn’t just about the lairds and ladies, it’s about the gardeners, the serving staff, the small, local businesses.

“The Tenement House in Glasgow, for example, is entirely representative of the seismic change in the role of women in Scotland in the early 20th century.”

The Tenement House (Image: NTS)

The Tenement House in Garnethill is a beautifully preserved household which gives a rare glimpse into life in the city at that time.

“Agnes Toward, who lived there, was a businesswoman – she ran a dress shop, and her daughter was a typist working in an office,” says Jackie. “Their story is one of huge evolution in the roles of women.”

She adds: “And at the Hill House, the box itself has become important, attracting architects from around the world, because it is so innovative.

“So yes, the National Trust for Scotland is about ancient castles and tartan, but it is also about evolution and science, and understanding ourselves by learning from the past.”

Love Scotland is available on all the usual podcast channels. The episode on The Hill House and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh is on Friday, November 24.