The Real People and Places in the Novels of Cornwall

I found the Novels of Cornwall only after seeing season one of the current Poldark series and then I couldn't believe I had never heard of the books!  Now I cannot imagine not knowing about them.

As I began to read the books,  I wondered about the people and places.  Winston Graham did an extraordinary job of interweaving the real places and people into the Poldark novels and the lives of Ross and Demelza and their friends and children.

You may remember I did an entire blog about the Poldark Trail in London.  If you have not read that, it was posted in  August, 2016.

While in Falmouth in June, 2016 I found a great book called The Great Cornish Families, a History of the People and Their Houses.  So much of what I will relate here will be from that book.

So let's begin with The Bassets of Tehidy.  The first one came to Cornwall in the Conqueror's time and the last one sold the family house, Tehidy, in 1916.  What a grand home it was!

Tehiddy House, Cornwall. The Seat of Francis Basset, Baron De Dunstanville" (1757-1835). 1832 engraving by John Thomas after T. Allom

This would have been what it looked like when  Ross and Demelza visited it I am sure.  The extra "d" makes sense as to how it is pronounced.  I thought it was -  Te hi De but its Te Hid e.  Here's a bit from the book about Francis Basset: made the Grand Tour as befits the heir of an affluent family.  He continued his father's work at Portreath, and wrote a whole parcel of political treatises ranging from relations with France to the state of Cornish agriculture.  Francis, like most other landed gentlemen of the day, was also an enthusiastic borough-monger.  For some years he battled with Lord Falmouth over the right to Tregony and Truro, eventually agreeing that Falmouth should have Truro, and Basset, Tregony. He fought a duel with Sir Christopher Hawkins, another borough-monger over Parliamentary controls.   They fired two shots each missed, and retired satisfied.... In 1796 Pitt made him Lord de Dunstanville.  The new lord, enjoyed a "princely income" from his mines, and did much work for the welfare of miners.  He was a liberal patron of literature and painting, an early patron of John Opie, the great Cornish painter (remember in the series George had Francis' painting taken down at Trenwith saying to Elizabeth he would have their portrait painted by Opie) , and a pall-bearer at his funeral in 1807.

In 1918 the house became a hospital for tuberculosis sufferers. On 23 February 1919 the house was destroyed by fire but by January 1922 had been completely rebuilt.

My picture I took of Lord de Dunstanville at St. Michael's Mount

No wonder Demelza was nervous at the thought of hosting the Basset's at Nampara! Afterwards they laughed about the funny stuff that happened like a server's thumb in the soup and then licked it!  And a mince tart was dropped and rolled under Dwight's chair..  Ross was very complimentary of the food. "It was all splendid.  A lavish meal would have been pretentious.  They could  not find better food in the county nor better cooked, and that was what mattered. " The menu included: Pease Soup, Boiled Tongue, Roasted Turkey Hen with chopped bacon, (her special) Raspberry Jam Puffs, syllabub and mince pies. Claret was bought from Mr. Trencrom, and they also had Geneva, brandy and Demelza's favorite: Port.

Boscawens, The Lords Falmouth

The name Hugh Boscawen dates back to at least 1578 and continues up to the Poldark novels in the late 1700s.  The Boscawens played no part in mining  operations; they simply leased rights on their land to the adventurers. Their home is Tregothnan. Probably the most famous was Edward Boscawen, "Old Dreadnought" or "Captain Ned." He was known as Pitt's great admiral.  Hugh's third son, George Evelyn (1758-1808) would be the one Ross Poldark knew.  As a soldier he was present at Lexington in the American War of Independence. Two years later he was pacifying a mob of angry miners in Truro.

Tregothnan- Home to the Boscawen family, Tregothnan is a living and working private Cornish estate, with a rich history dating back to 1334. The name ‘Tregothnan’ literally means ‘The House at the Head of the Valley’ and is still a private family home today. Today Tregothnan is a botanic garden and has the only tea plantation in the UK!

The Goldophins or Godolphins as George and Ossie Whitworth  are always going on about!

Again the name goes back to the 1500. The spelling was changed to make it easier to spell and probably pronounce.  The family made their fortune from metal which raised them to eminence from Tudor to Georgian times. Early members of the family were soldiers and have a good deal to do with the fort on St Mary's in the Scillies having built a castle above Hugh Town in the late 1500s.

Star Castle

Living near horse country (Bluegrass commonwealth of Kentucky) I associate the name with horses.  The second Earl of Godolphin, Francis (1678-1766) was devoted to horses and brought the famed Arab stallions to England from whom race horses descend.

The Goldophin House is near Helston, but the earldom became extinct in 1766 and the house associated with them was nearly demolished in 1850 according to my book. But look what is left! Must have been huge.

Now a National Trust property, open to the public and rentals.  Near Helston.

I started this blog ages and ages ago and with series 4 just starting I noticed people were asking questions about the names and places. Perhaps there will be a second half of this later.

Enjoy!
Bonny Wise, I am
Inspired by Poldark


PS I have just recently returned from a Group Tour I organized to Cornwall to go see where Poldark is filmed!

We were celebrities! TV, newspaper & magazines interviewed us...