Gloucestershire’s Chavenage House doubles as Poldark’s Trenwith

If you’ve been enjoying the BBC’s remake of ‘Poldark’, the romantic saga set in 18th-century Cornwall and based on the novels of Winston Graham, why not pay a visit to Chavenage House in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, which doubles as the Poldark family’s Cornish home, Trenwith.

Chavenage House

It is thought that a house has stood on the site of Chavenage since the 14th-century, and parts of the present-day house date to the medieval period. In 1564 when Edward Stephens of Eastington purchased the house he started the massive project of a major reconstruction of the site. In 1576 Stephens gutted the medieval building he found, and put on the two wings and the porch to create a manor house of the classic Elizabethan style. The house has numerous Civil War connections including tapestry-lined rooms stayed in by Cromwell and his second-in-command, General Ireton, in 1648.

Cromwell’s Bedroom, Chavenage House

Like the majority of properties represented by the Historic Houses Association (HHA), Chavenage House is a lived-in family home. It has only been owned by two families during its history, and has been occupied by the Lowsley-Williams family since 1891. This is something which was hugely important to the Poldark production team, a spokesperson for Poldark stated, “We chose to film at Chavenage because we wanted the Poldark family house to have a wonderful lived-in feel, which it most certainly does.”

Poldark at Chavenage House. Robert Viglasky Photography

Chavenage House has recently also been used for filming for BBC’s Wolf Hall, in addition to earlier productions including Lark Rise to Candleford and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The house is open to visitors on Thursday and Sunday afternoons during the summer season (May-September) plus Easter Sunday and Monday. Group visits can be arranged on any day throughout the year.