Explore the real-world places that appear in Ross Poldark by Winston Graham. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Nampara (Wheal Leisure area, Trevaunance Cove), Trevaunance Cove, Wheal Coates, Redruth, Truro and 5 more.
Near St Agnes — Ross Poldark's derelict family home
Ross returns from the American war to find Nampara in ruins. His father Joshua is dead, and the house is occupied by the drunken servants Jud and Prudie Paynter, with hens roaming the rooms. Ross resolves to restore the land and the house, and it becomes the base for his new life, including the arrival of Demelza.
Nampara is fictional, but Graham based the valley on the coastline around Trevaunance Cove and the surrounding St Agnes valleys. The area was densely worked for tin and copper in the 18th century.
The St Agnes coast is a protected landscape within the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. The valleys are popular for walking, with private farms and cottages scattered about.
St Agnes — The dramatic coast of Ross's lands
The wild north Cornwall coast frames Ross's return as he rides across the cliffs and sees the ruined landscape of his inheritance. The sea, the cliffs and the mine stacks form the backdrop to his struggle to rebuild his fortunes and to the lives of the poor tenants and miners he sympathizes with.
Trevaunance Cove once had a series of ambitious harbours built in the 18th century to export tin and copper. Storms repeatedly destroyed them, and the last was lost in the early 1900s.
The cove is a popular surfing beach with a cafe and car park at the top. Tides can cover most of the sand at high water.
Visit: Trevaunance Cove (park)
Towanroath Shaft — Emblematic Cornish mine
The Poldark mines, such as Wheal Leisure, which Ross reopens, are modelled on mines like this one on the cliffs. Ross grows determined to revive the failing mining industry to employ the destitute miners whose plight stirs his sympathy, risking his remaining fortune on the venture.
Wheal Coates operated for tin mining from the early 1800s until 1889, with the engine house built in 1872. It is typical of the cliffside mines that dominated this coast.
The engine houses are owned by the National Trust and are freely accessible along the coast path. The site is part of the Cornwall Mining World Heritage Site.
Visit: Wheal Coates (National Trust) (historic site)
Mining town — Fair and market scenes
Redruth is the centre of the mining district and a place where Ross encounters the hardship of the miners. It stands near the fairground where he is drawn into a brawl and rescues the half-starved urchin Demelza Carne from being tormented by a crowd, an act that changes his life.
Redruth grew rich as the centre of Cornwall's copper mining boom in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was once called the richest square mile on earth for mining.
The town retains its historic mining architecture and is near Poldark filming locations and the Great Flat Lode trails. Tourists visit the nearby mining heritage sites.
Visit: Redruth Town Centre (landmark)
County town — Gentry society and the Warleggan bank
Truro is the social centre for the gentry, where Ross encounters his cousin Francis and the girl he loves, Elizabeth Chynoweth, now engaged to Francis. It also introduces the rising bankers and merchants such as the Warleggans, foreshadowing the rivalry that will shape Ross's career.
Truro became a major stannary and trading town for tin in the Middle Ages and flourished in the Georgian era as a fashionable centre for the county's gentry. Its Georgian townhouses date from this period.
Truro is Cornwall's only city, notable for its cathedral and Georgian architecture on Lemon Street. It is a regional shopping and cultural centre.
Visit: Truro Cathedral (landmark)
Helston area — Francis Poldark's family seat
Trenwith is the home of Ross's uncle Charles and cousin Francis, where Ross learns that Elizabeth is engaged to Francis. The family's coolly formal dinners contrast with Ross's rough homecoming, and Ross's heartbreak shapes his bitterness and his later decisions.
Trenwith is fictional, but Godolphin House near Helston is often cited as a model for a grand Cornish gentry manor. Godolphin was home to a wealthy mining family from the Tudor period.
Godolphin House is owned by the National Trust and open to visitors seasonally, with gardens and a historic estate landscape. It was used as a filming location for the TV adaptation.
Visit: Godolphin House (historic site)
Ross's copper mine venture
Ross founds Wheal Leisure as a risky mining venture to give employment to local miners. He gathers investors and works to prove the mine's worth while threatened by rivals. The enterprise is central to his plan to escape poverty and restore his family's fortunes.
Wheal Leisure is fictional but modelled on actual mines such as those around St Agnes and Perranporth. Mining ventures were often financed by local gentry through adventurer shares.
The landscape is dotted with ruined engine houses and shafts, many protected as part of the World Heritage Site. Walkers can follow the coast path past several of them.
St Agnes — Village church of Ross's neighbourhood
The village church at Sawle is where the local community gathers. It is the setting for the funeral of Ross's father and for social occasions that bring the gentry and poor together, showing the class divisions in the district.
Sawle is fictional, and St Agnes Church is a possible inspiration. The village grew around the mining economy of the 18th century.
St Agnes remains a lively village with a Cornish church, shops, and a museum. It draws visitors for the coast and mining heritage.
Penwinnick Road — Local mining and village history
While not in the novel, the museum interprets the world Ross inhabits: the miners' lives, the rise and fall of copper and tin, and the village community that shaped the Poldark landscape.
The museum was founded to preserve St Agnes's history of mining, shipping and local culture. It is run by volunteers.
The museum displays artifacts on mining, shipwrecks and local life. It is a good first stop for Poldark enthusiasts.
Visit: St Agnes Museum (museum)
Coast near Nampara — Wide sands and cliffs
The wide beaches and cliffs near Ross's home provide scenes of riding, reflection and rural life. Ross walks the shore as he contemplates his future and the changes in the land after his return from war.
Perranporth grew from a small mining hamlet into a seaside resort in the 19th century. The beach and dunes were used by miners and farmers.
The beach is a popular surf destination with cafes and holiday accommodation. It features in the TV series filming.
Visit: Perranporth Beach (park)
More by Winston Graham: All Winston Graham books
Other nearby maps: Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney locations map · Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier locations map · Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier locations map · And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie locations map