Poldark brings his Cornish charms to Bowood House and Gardens

The past two Sundays’ episodes of BBC TV’s ‘Poldark’ have seen Ross Poldark and other characters out-and-about in a bucolic Hyde Park. Yet all is not quite as it seems since a Wiltshire landmark has stepped in for central London with Bowood’s Pleasure Grounds understudying Hyde Park and Capability Brown’s sinuous lake cast as the Serpentine!

Additionally, in episode six last night (Sunday 15th July), Captain Poldark is seen visiting gentlemen of means to seek their support to save the ailing Pascoe’s bank. Two defining aspects of Bowood House have also been captured on screen to provide the settings for two of the imposing homes along his trek. Ross Poldark is seen arriving at one property whose exterior is depicted by the Upper Terrace fronting Bowood House while at another building of grandeur, the entrance hall is portrayed by Robert Adam’s Orangery - in reality, a step indoors from the Upper Terrace.

These several scenes (and there will be more footage from the historic Estate appearing on next Sunday’s epsiode) involved a day of set-up and a day of filming at Bowood - home to the

Lansdowne family since 1754. A TV crew of some 40 people were at Bowood last October for the filming. The Hyde Park scenes were set close to the lake with one shot capturing a swan-shaped boat on the water. While the area was roped off from the public, some eagle-eyed visitors to Bowood House and Gardens (between Calne and Chippenham, Wiltshire) that day were intrigued by happenings that could be seen from a distance.

Series 4 of the popular TV series is set in 1799 during which time the Lansdowne family would have lived at Bowood for the past 25 years. At that stage, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s Grade I listed, 2,000-acre parkland at Bowood was in its relative infancy since, commissioned by the 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, the legendary designer had begun the landscaping in 1763 (with the project over-running its original completion date of June 1766).

When Ross Poldark arrives in London in 1979 to take his seat in Westminster as the MP for Truro, the 1st Marquess of Lansdowne – formerly Prime Minister from 1782-1783 – was the MP for Wycombe (although this is not part of the Poldark plotline). The Marquess’s London home was Lansdowne House (now The Lansdowne Club) – a short carriage ride or a leisurely stroll from Hyde Park.

Just as Capability Brown’s Grade I listed, 2,000-acre parkland attracted the filming of Poldark in 2017, French TV channel, France 3’s 'Des Racines et des Ailes’ programme filmed part of ‘The Most Beautiful Gardens in Europe’ documentary at Bowood that May. The documentary was then transmitted in May of this year with Bowood’s Capability Brown parkland and lake featured in their own right. Prior to this, the Italianate Terraces - that front Robert Adam’s Diocletian façade to Bowood House - were the location for the June 2015 filming of two epsiodes of BBC1's ‘Antiques Roadshow’ that were broadcast in January 2016.

Picking up the pace, 2018 has seen Bowood also welcoming a diverse range of photographic opportunities and crowd-pleasing events that equally appreciate the perfect, quintessentially British setting offered by the House and Gardens. With Bowood House as a stately backdrop and the surrounding parkland and lake adding to the tone, recent and upcoming events at Bowood see heritage blend with contemporary lifestyle for truly special occasions. Recently The Lord Chamberlain’s Men have staged an outdoor performance of ‘The Tempest’ on the East Lawn while The Handmade Fair - hosted by Kirstie Allsopp, Liz Earle and Sarah Raven - attracted some 5,000 visitors across three days at the end of June.

Declared a smash hit by some 4,000 concertgoers in 2017, Classic Ibiza will return for its second successive year on Saturday 4th August, bringing some of the best of the White Island’s dance tunes to orchestral life. The Bowood Classic Car & Motorcycle Show will return for its second Bowood appearance on Sunday 12th August while the August Bank Holiday weekend’s Great British Food Festival (Saturday 25th - Monday 27th August) will be back for its third consecutive year.

Other returning events that have achieved loyal followings over the years include Tractor Ted’s Big Machines Weekend in August (Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th), and September’s Living Heritage Wiltshire Game and Country Fair (Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd). Also making good advantage of the wide-open space and stunning autumnal scenery at Bowood, will be the LPS Events Duathlon (Sunday 14th October).

The Orangery - as seen in episode six of ‘Poldark’ - currently features a special exhibition to mark the centenary of the end of the Great War (‘A Patriotic Peace: the 5th Marquess and the First World War at Bowood House’) that runs through to the end of Bowood’s 2018 season on 4th November.

Ahead of all the Bowood activity lined up in the coming weeks and months, make sure to tune into episode seven next Sunday (22nd July) for some high drama in beautiful parkland.

For more details on upcoming events at Bowood, visit: www.bowood.org/events