Pollok House
Pollok House is the ancestral home of the Maxwell family, located in Pollok Country Park, Glasgow.
The house - built in 1752 and
designed by William Adam - is considered to be one of the
most elegant family homes in Glasgow. It was gifted to the
City of Glasgow in 1966 by Mrs Anne Maxwell Macdonald, her
family had owned the estate for almost 700 years. It is now
managed by the National Trust for Scotland and is open to
the public.
Displayed within Pollok House is the finest private
collection of Spanish paintings within the UK, including
works by El Greco, Francisco Goya and Bartolomé Esteban
Murillo. There are also paintings by William Blake, as well
as glass, silverware, porcelain and antique furniture. One
of the most interesting parts of the house is the servants'
quarters downstairs, and there is a good tearoom in the old
kitchens.
The house also has a beautifully kept garden, including a
collection of over 1,000 species of rhododendrons.
People often spell the name Pollok incorrectly and the
family name, particularly in the USA, now uses Pollock.
However in Medieval Scotland spelling did not follow strict
rules and the name appears in many forms - Pollock,
Pollocke, Polk, Polke, Pollok, Pollick, Polloch, Pook,
Pooke, Poock, Pogue, Poag, Poage, Poague, Poak and many
more.
In Glasgow the area is called Pollok and this spelling
often catches people out. To find out more about this you
can visit House of Names.