HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: Home of Britain’s bestselling history magazine and award-winning podcast
date: 2025-02-14T14:56:13.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: A visit to Botallack Mine, Cornwall
items: Poldark, Peaky Blinders and 6 other historical TV shows that have tourists flocking to Britain
items: From politics to pleasure gardens: the real history behind Poldark's 18th-century London
items: Poldark series 3 recap – what happened and what is the real history behind the hit TV series?
items: The Georgian guide to perfect parenting
items: History explorer: Politics and power in Georgian Britain
items: The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode nine
items: The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode eight
items: The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode seven
items: The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode six

A visit to Botallack Mine, Cornwall
type: item
date: 2019-09-01T11:00:07.000Z
subject: Bronze Age
subject: Georgian
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Poldark
description: Get a glimpse into Cornwall’s mining past, against the dramatic coastline of Poldark country. BBC History Revealed takes you on a tour of Botallack Mine…
encoded: Cornwall has a colourful history of smuggling, piracy and mining, and though much of the landscape has been left unspoilt, there are many remnants of its industrial past. This dramatic coastline was the inspiration for Winston Graham’s Poldark novels, set in 18th-century Cornwall and which have since been made into a BBC TV series. The Tin Coast – part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage site – still retains glimpses of Cornwall’s tin and copper mining heritage. Running from St Just to Pendeen, along the west coast, Botallack is considered one of the best preserved examples of a Cornish tin mine. Early records suggest there was tin mining in the area from at least the 1500s, but evidence of Cornish tin trading dates back thousands of years. Poldark’s Cornwall: the history behind the hit series A visit to St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff Poldark, Peaky Blinders and 6 other historical TV shows that have tourists flocking to Britain Archaeological evidence indicates that tin may have been mined here as long ago as the Roman era or even Bronze Age. By the 19th century, there were more than 2,000 tin mines in the county. Botallack, near St Just, is a former submarine mine, meaning its tunnels stretch out under the sea, in this case for around half a mile. Miners mostly relied on hammers, chisels and gunpowder to get the ore out of the ground. It’s believed that during the mine’s lifetime, 14,500 tonnes of tin and 20,000 tonnes of copper were produced at Botallack, as well as 1,500 tones of arsenic. This poisonous element – a by-product of tin and copper mining – was used in paint until the end of the 19th century, and in weed killers until the 1940s. Mining was already a dangerous occupation, but this added hazard meant that miners had to ensure that any exposed skin was covered in clay, and that they covered their mouth and nose with rags. Conditions in the mines were extreme – temperatures would soar quickly and ventilation was p…

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Poldark, Peaky Blinders and 6 other historical TV shows that have tourists flocking to Britain
type: item
date: 2019-07-15T14:33:29.000Z
creator: Emma Mason
subject: General Modern
subject: Period
subject: Downton Abbey
subject: Peaky Blinders
subject: Poldark
subject: The Crown
description: As the backdrop to Ross Poldark's shirtless shenanigans in the hit period drama Poldark, Cornwall has seen a huge influx of tourists looking to visit the show's scenic filming locations. In 2018, tourism chiefs warned that the BBC television drama is putting the county's coastline at risk of "over-tourism". As the fifth and final series of the drama begins, we take a closer look at 'Poldark effect' and the other shows bringing tourists to Britain…
encoded: The chief executive of Cornish tourist board Visit Cornwall says the area is struggling to cope with an unprecedented surge in holidaymakers, it was reported in 2018. Visitors were encouraged to look beyond popular Poldark filming locations Porthcurno beach and Kynance Cove, which feature as Poldark’s beloved Nampara. Poldark is reported to have influenced around 14 per cent of all visitors to Cornwall, and businesses have long reported a boost in the number of tourists from overseas because of the so-called ‘Poldark effect’. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2018/05/13492300-low_res-poldark-s3_0-afbf2ae-91687ff.jpg" width="620" height="413" alt="Aidan Turner (as Poldark) and Eleanor Tomlinson (as Demelza) in the BBC period drama ‘Poldark’. (Photo by Mammoth Screen/BBC)" title="Aidan Turner (as Poldark) and Eleanor Tomlinson (as Demelza) in the BBC period drama ‘Poldark’. (Photo by Mammoth Screen/BBC)" /> Poldark is one of many drama series inspiring so-called ‘TV tourism’: in 2018, in its travel trends report, Trip Advisor found that 1 in 5 global travellers visited a location because they saw it on a TV show. Significantly, says Vogue magazine, “TV’s tourism influence is now rivalling that of film – perhaps even surpassing it”. A report from the University of North Texas found that “TV viewing behaviour is the strongest predictor of entertainment-motivated tourism… television series are often watched on regular basis thus, viewers are more likely to be exposed to the destination image for a longer period.” The real history behind Poldark's 18th-century London Poldark’s Cornwall: the history behind the hit series Top 10 historical Cornish words Set in 18th-century Cornwall, the hugely popular BBC One drama Poldark starring Aidan Turner (as Poldark) and Eleanor Tomlinson (as Demelza) draws inspiration from Winston Graham’s 12 novels, which were written between 1945 and 2002. Here, we look at seven other historical TV dramas that ar…

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From politics to pleasure gardens: the real history behind Poldark's 18th-century London
type: item
date: 2018-07-11T10:43:27.000Z
subject: Georgian
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: London’s history
subject: Poldark
description: The BBC's adaptation of Winston Graham's Poldark novels took viewers into the streets, pleasure gardens and parliament of 18th-century London. What was the thriving capital city like? Hannah Greig, early modern historian and historical advisor to the drama, shares what Ross Poldark would have encountered in the capital
encoded: We’re halfway through series four of the BBC’s hit drama Poldark and Winston Graham’s fictional hero, Ross Poldark, has been on the move. Answering the siren call of parliament, he kissed his family goodbye and travelled long-haul, over many days, from Cornwall to London. He returned to his family home, Nampara, and the drama of the mines, but he was soon back in the capital when summoned to parliament once more. Described in contemporary magazines and newspapers as the “vortex of dissipation”, late 18th-century London had a magical appeal – but also an air of danger. By far the largest capital city in Europe, it considerably outstripped all other British towns and was a place like no other. “I can but think London is a kind of mistress,” wrote Lady Anne Irwin from Yorkshire to her father, the 3rd Earl of Carlisle in London. “Dissolute in principle, loose in practice and extravagant in pleasure, and if a man keeps such a Lady he will surely be undone.” Read more: Poldark series 3 recap – what happened and what is the real history behind the hit TV series? Poldark's Cornwall: the history behind the hit series The business of government was just one draw amongst many for men like Poldark, who might attend London to deal with estate business, see lawyers, shop or find a wife, as well as take a seat in parliament. But it was a draw that had a profound impact on London life. Due to constitutional changes introduced from the 1690s, it was in the 18th century that an annual meeting of parliament was established (a feature that has been retained in the British political system ever since). Having previously been summoned and dismissed irregularly at the behest of the monarch, for the first time in history, parliament – consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords – was required to meet every year and often sat for between five and seven months, setting the foundations for what would later be called “the London season”. Many MPs (like our fictional hero) left th…

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Poldark series 3 recap – what happened and what is the real history behind the hit TV series?
type: item
date: 2018-06-07T07:29:16.000Z
subject: Georgian
subject: Period
subject: Poldark
description: A fourth series of the BBC One hit period drama Poldark is set to air on Sunday 10 June. But what happened in series three of the show based on Winston Graham’s novels and what is the real history behind Poldark?
encoded: During the third series of Poldark, historian and advisor to the show Hannah Greig explored the real history behind each episode for History Extra. Here’s a recap of what happened in Poldark series three – from Ross’s trip to Republican France to the rotten boroughs of 18th-century Cornwall… Warning: this article contains spoilers for series three of Poldark New characters In the first episode of series three, we’re immediately swept up with the stories of our lead characters. Ross Poldark (Aiden Turner), his wife Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson), his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth (Heida Reed) and enemy George Warleggan (Jack Farthing) remain locked in complex ties of love, lust, loyalty, ambition and conflict. The episode sees Doctor Dwight Enys and Caroline Penvenen finally married, though the doctor is called away from his wedding night to assist the birth of Elizabeth’s baby, which arrives apparently early after Elizabeth manufactures a fall. Though the baby Valentine is delivered safely, suspicions abound as to the timing of the birth. We meet a few new characters too, with the arrival of Demelza’s brothers, Drake and Sam Carne, and Elizabeth’s cousin, Morwenna Chynoweth, who joined Elizabeth’s family as a governess. What was the situation like for a girl such as Morwenna in the 18th century? “She was socially superior to other domestic servants,” explains Hannah Greig, “closer to the family in rank than to those ‘below stairs’ but nonetheless still a servant herself, dependent on her employer for everything – her income, board and lodging, working conditions, lifestyle and social connections.” Read more: The real history behind ‘Poldark’ series three: episode one The Carne brothers and 18th-century Methodists “Oo be this, then?” Prudie asks in episode two, spotting Demelza’s brother, Drake Carne, striding towards Nampara. The arrival of the Carne brothers causes a stir in the mining community: both are young, good-looking, unmarried men; and both are Methodists. S…

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The Georgian guide to perfect parenting
type: item
date: 2018-05-17T08:56:32.000Z
subject: Georgian
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Children
subject: Poldark
subject: Royal children
description: To give birth in the 18th century was to enter a minefield of high mortality rates, stranger-danger and rampant commercialisation. Elizabeth Foyster offers five tips to those taking the plunge into the fraught world of Georgian parenting
encoded: This article was first published in the June 2018 edition of BBC History Magazine BIRTH Prepare to meet the ‘man-midwife’ The 18th century saw male doctors storming Britain's delivery rooms Women gearing up to give birth in Georgian Britain needed all the moral support they could get – and, for centuries, that support had come exclusively from one gender. Throughout the Tudor and Stuart periods, the delivery room was a woman-only zone, populated by female relatives, friends and neighbours offering encouragement and advice. The father was nowhere to be seen, banished from the birthing room to wait for news elsewhere. But then, in the 18th century, this traditionally female bastion was disrupted by the ‘man-midwife’. William Smellie (1697–1763) was the most influential of a new generation of male medical practitioners who claimed to be every bit as knowledgeable about childbirth as women. And he bolstered his claim by using a novel instrument: the forceps. While the forceps would go on to save the lives of many mothers and babies, midwives like Sarah Stone, author of Complete Practice of Midwifery (1737), were initially sceptical about their benefits, one criticism being that they were responsible for passing on infection. Female midwives were also suspicious about the motives of the men who made their careers, and fortunes, from contact with women when at their most vulnerable. These male arrivistes could not possibly comprehend the sensitivities of a female body, they claimed. Midwife Elizabeth Nihell was so enraged by Smellie’s presence in delivery rooms that she accused him of having “the delicate fist of a great-horse-godmother of a he-midwife”. THE FIRST YEAR Accept the will of God High mortality rates made child-rearing a stressful – often tragic – experience Starting a family in Georgian Britain was not an undertaking for the faint-hearted. Babies could inspire great joy but they could also bring heartache. Child mortality was far higher in the 18th century th…

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History explorer: Politics and power in Georgian Britain
type: item
date: 2018-02-01T15:06:02.000Z
subject: Georgian
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Poldark
description: Ellie Cawthorne and Hannah Greig explore Chatsworth, the seat of the most influential woman of her age, Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire
encoded: This article was first published in the February 2018 edition of BBC History Magazine When asked to describe Chatsworth, one word immediately springs to mind – extravagant. As I approach the house over rolling Derbyshire hills dotted with grazing sheep, its gilt-edged windows glint in the sun, hinting at the opulence inside. Every possible inch of the house’s interior appears to be intricately decorated. From carved oak panelling to ornately stuccoed walls and ceilings hand-painted with scenes of heaven, more is more seems to be the Chatsworth way. Outside, a 105-acre garden dotted with rockeries, ponds and a maze sits within elegant parklands stretching out for 1,000 acres. Its centrepiece is the majestic cascade fountain, a gigantic 300-year-old water feature fed by four lakes. Today, the grounds are meticulously maintained by a team of more than 20 gardeners. On the day I look around, the estate is alive with activity and bustling with visitors, from ramblers in walking boots to tourists armed with selfie-sticks. Originally built by the Elizabethan powerhouse Bess of Hardwick, with construction beginning in 1552, Chatsworth has been the aristocratic seat of the Cavendish family for more than 450 years. Through its countless extensions and renovations, the house bears the marks of each successive generation. What was once a Tudor manor has evolved beyond recognition into a palatial baroque residence. Down the centuries, the estate has been home to a myriad of fascinating figures, and one of its most influential residents was Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (1757–1806). An author, socialite, fashion icon and political campaigner, Georgiana was one of the leading lights of Georgian Britain. Married to the 5th Duke of Devonshire, she wielded considerable influence over several of the key politicians, playwrights and royalty of the day. “The celebrity Georgiana enjoyed in the late 18th century was titanic,” says Hannah Greig, who was a historical consultant…

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The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode nine
type: item
date: 2017-08-07T12:16:51.000Z
subject: Georgian
subject: Period
subject: Poldark
description: As series three of Winston Graham's Georgian-set drama comes to a close on BBC One, historian Hannah Greig discusses love and marriage in 18th-century England
encoded: Did you miss the history behind episode eight? Read it here. Love, lust, sex and marriage are at the heart of Winston Graham’s Poldark series, both in his original pages and in on-screen adaptation. Everywhere we look, matches are being made and hearts are being stolen and broken – from Elizabeth, Ross and Demelza’s plot-defining, complex passions to the more recent relationships unfolding between Caroline and Dwight, Elizabeth and George, Morwenna and Drake, Morwenna and Ossie, Ossie and Rowella, and Demelza and Hugh. Of course, Winston Graham wasn’t the first nor the last novelist to have looked to the late 1700s and early 1800s for high romance. Between 1921 and 1972, Georgette Heyer wrote more than 30 romances set in Georgian England (alongside many other contemporary novels), citing Jane Austen has her inspiration. PD James also couldn’t resist, indulging her own love of the period with her Austen-inspired crime/fiction mash-up, Death Comes to Pemberley. And among these big literary names are innumerable other authors who keep the flames of ‘Regency romance’ burning. How much, though, of the love and intrigue we find in Poldark is timeless and how much speaks to the particularities of the 18th century? Graham’s central fictitious relationship, between the gentlemanly Ross Poldark and Demelza Carne, an illiterate young kitchen maid, is certainly one that would be hard to retrieve from contemporary records as it contravened most social and cultural norms of the day. Yet, though rare, such matches are not completely absent from the archives. In the 1770s, the Town and Country Magazine, a purveyor of society scandal, claimed that the wife of Hugh Boscawen, 2nd Viscount Falmouth, was a low-born milliner’s apprentice and a minor when they married. Hugh Boscawen was a notorious rake and, once married, left his inappropriate wife behind in Cornwall while he lived it up with his mistresses in London. He died with no legitimate heir (although plenty of illegitimate ones,…

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The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode eight
type: item
date: 2017-07-31T14:15:22.000Z
subject: Georgian
subject: Period
subject: Poldark
description: In the penultimate instalment of a new series for History Extra, historian Hannah Greig considers the "rotten boroughs" of 18th-century Cornwall and George Warleggan's path to parliament
encoded: Did you miss the history behind episode seven? Read it here. Watch out, Westminster: George Warleggan, member of parliament for Truro is in the house. In episode eight, the Cornish electoral politics that have been evolving in the background since the previous series (when the hapless yet ambitious MP Unwin Trevaunance won his seat, but lost Caroline Penvenen) take centre stage. Under Sir Francis Basset’s interest, George achieves his ambition to enter parliament. In the Poldark novels, Winston Graham dramatises a fundamental characteristic of Cornwall’s 18th-century past. The region was famously over-represented in parliament. By 1790, it was returning 44 MPs to Westminster (home to a total of 558 members), far more than anywhere else in the country and “a melancholy proof of the present great inequality of representation”, according to one contemporary visitor. Two of those MPs were elected as ‘county members’, representing the entire county of Cornwall. The remaining 42 were elected as ‘borough members’ (George’s ticket), representing 21 different boroughs. Although each borough returned two MPs, they varied hugely in size and make-up. Among them were a number of so-called "rotten boroughs", which had only a handful of voters, and "pocket boroughs" which were entirely under the control of a local patron. The village of Mitchell, for example, returned two MPs but had only seven voters by 1821 (and a peak of 39 in the 1790s). Launceston came under the tight management of the Duke of Northumberland after he purchased estates in 1775, and the small number of tenants who had the franchise were guaranteed to support their landlord’s candidates. In contrast, elections in the borough of Penryn (a "scot and lot" borough which extended the franchise to all those who paid poor rates) were said to be open to whichever candidate had the most money to burn. “’Tis said money is drove about in wheelbarrows,” claimed one observer in 1761, while a later newspaper report of 1825 su…

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The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode seven
type: item
date: 2017-07-24T09:55:27.000Z
subject: Georgian
subject: Period
subject: Poldark
description: In the seventh instalment of a new series for History Extra, historian Hannah Greig takes a look at how the high drama of the characters' lives can be traced back to real 18th-century experiences and explores the challenges of balancing historical "facts" with "fiction"
encoded: Did you miss the history behind episode six? Read it here. Series three is galloping along cliff edges as fast as Ross’ horse (played so sure-footedly by the handsome Seamus). We’ve had births, deaths and marriages, new loves and losses, romance and hope, pain and illness. This week we mourn the death of Aunt Agatha, fear for the safety of Morwenna and watch Hugh Armitage watch Demelza. Meanwhile, the doctor Dwight Enys once more displays his modern medical skill by treating young Valentine’s rickets with a dose of Vitamin D, while George sets his sights on securing one of the 44 seats in Westminster filled by Cornish MPs, an opportunity which was dismissed by Ross. On both the page and screen, the storylines move swiftly as the characters are relentlessly buffeted by life-changing events, some associated with human emotion and individual agency and others shaped by broader economic, social and political currents. The pace of change may often leave viewers and readers wondering: are any of these experiences 18th-century experiences, or is such high drama the stuff of fiction alone? As an academic historian of 18th-century British history and the consultant to Poldark since series one, I’ve come to appreciate the many and varied links that Graham made between original historical research and the fictions that unfold in his novels. Indeed, much of what Graham’s Poldark characters encounter is – perhaps surprisingly – inspired by ‘true stories’ the author uncovered in 18th-century newspapers, personal letters, diaries and autobiographies. I have often found myself retracing Graham’s steps through various historical documents (either by accident or design) when checking, confirming or suggesting alterations to points of detail in the adaptation. Some aspects of the stories – such as the relationship between local and national political representation and George’s quest to become an MP – are perhaps most obviously rooted in historical precedent, with Graham drawing on 18…

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The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode six
type: item
date: 2017-07-17T09:41:21.000Z
subject: Georgian
subject: Period
subject: Poldark
description: In the sixth instalment of a new series for History Extra, historian Hannah Greig considers Aunt Agatha and reveals what the character can tell us about the position of a lifelong, single woman in the 18th century
encoded: Did you miss the history behind episode five? Read it here. Aunt Agatha (Ross and Francis’s great aunt), played so brilliantly by Caroline Blakiston, is one of my favourite Poldark characters. Acerbic, ancient and fortune-telling, Aunt Agatha has been guiding us through plot twists since the first episode of series one, and she’s been locking horns with George throughout this series. Her sharp reflections routinely make me laugh when I read Debbie Horsfield’s scripts and when Blakiston delivers them so skilfully on screen. I am also a fan of Aunt Agatha, however, because she draws our attention to a figure whose place in 18th-century society is all too easily ignored – the lifelong, single woman. The term "spinster" originally meant a woman who spins. By the 18th century, it was the legal definition for an unmarried woman and had also come to take on some of the negative connotations of the more derogatory term "old maid". Estimates suggest that between 10% and 20% of the female British population remained unmarried in the 18th-century. Spinsters, then, were a minority, but they were not exceptional within most communities. The stereotypes of spinsterhood were certainly brutal. In 1786, with vitriol typical of many commentators, The Rambler’s Magazine defined an “old maid” as: “the pest of society, a hypocrite amongst men and women, a Pharisee in the eye of Heaven and a rank putrid abomination to the deity.” Women who stayed single throughout their lives often left few records to tell us about their experiences and so have remained in the shadows of history books. Unsurprisingly though, what evidence historians have uncovered reveals a far more complex reality than derogatory stereotypes alone allow: single women have been found to have run their own successful businesses as innkeepers, brewers, shopkeepers, dress makers, print makers and more. Some lived with members of their extended family, some on their own. They managed households and even occasionally headed u…

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