Call Me Demelza Poldark

By Jane Xavier Dougherty

The second I saw Robin Ellis as Ross Poldark galloping along the dramatic Cornish coastline, back in 1975, I admit to being entranced by Poldark.

Set in the late 18^th to early 19^th centuries, Winston Graham’s novels of Cornwall came to life on the TV screen with all the drama and sweeping romance my teenage brain could absorb. Ross and his scrappy, resourceful wife Demelza (portrayed by Angharad Rees) are at the center of a tumultuous period in Cornwall’s history, weathering all the storms, natural and manmade, clinging to each other for support. The main character however, is Cornwall itself, windswept and unpredictable, but with a foundation of strong granite at its core. Then and there, it became a dream for me to visit beautiful Cornwall and walk in the fabled footsteps of these intriguing characters.

Fast forward 40 years and the BBC came out with a splashy new version of the Poldark novels. With lavish cinematography, big budget sets and costumes, and gorgeous actors, the series not only captured another generation of Poldark devotees, but reawakened the passion of the original fans. The new cast is headed by super sexy Aiden Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson, who put their own 21^st century stamp on the dynamic couple.

Soon after the show’s fifth and final season had wrapped filming, a friend of mine, James Arnott, decided to organize a Poldark Costume Ball in Cornwall for June 2019. When I heard of this, all of those young dreams of Cornwall come flooding back to me. I MUST attend! Finally a chance to live those dreams of being Demelza on those iconic cliffs!  

But I am 40 years older, hardly the young Demelza scampering over the cliffs of Cornwall… SO WHAT! In my brain I’m still 17! I am making Demelza gowns anyway! (The main advantage for me being well over 50 is that I care less about looking foolish to others and more about having fun!).

I decided on an impossible number of Demelza’s costumes that I wished to make. I achieved two. The modest cotton mustard striped “first dress” and the gold Duchesse silk ball gown, both given to her by Ross.

As someone who knows a thing or two about historically accurate clothing, I consented to chucking that part of my brain out since to replicate these theatrical costumes will not exactly be historically accurate. Who cares! This is about my fantasy of playing Demelza and I ain’t gettin’ any younger!

The cotton gown looks to be of “ticking” fabric, often used for feather beds, etc., comes in a muslin color with a woven stripe and easy to get at the local Joanns, yay! I experimented with dye lots, there are RIT dye recipes online, and arrive at a golden mustard that was satisfactory. From the series footage, it looks like they used the wrong side of the ticking so the stripe was more subtle. I used a basic drafting of a Janet Arnold 1775-1785 gown as my base and modified the line to fit the costume’s look. Since this dress is lightly structured and we will be hiking outside, I opted out of wearing a corset and put boning in the lining and seams and hook and eye tape up the front. I put pockets in the skirt, because whenever possible, POCKETS. And I did all of the finish sewing by hand, even though this is a theatrical cosplay piece, I have to have SOME dignity. (To be fair, the costumes in the series are also finished by hand and are beautifully done). I would also need some sort of wrap for the blustery Cornish winds, so I decided on a shawl that Demelza wears.  For this, I needed a very nubby homespun-looking wool … in green … in Rochester, Minnesota? Not exactly the rich textile source area that I was used to in the SF Bay Area. However, I am astonished to find a “mini Britex” a few miles from my new home! Ginny’s Fabrics boasts a gorgeous collection of fine designer goods, including Chanel! Oh, happy day! I found a beige wool coating that fits the texture bill, and even with dyeing it green, it really reads like the one she wears.

In Cornwall, we had a lovely day visiting many of the filming sites, driven by one of the drivers on the series no less! The dress was super comfy as I hiked up and down the cliffs. We were lucky to have wonderful photographer, John Walton of Heritage Focus Photography, as part of our group. Some of you may know John’s wife, the talented Jane Walton of Hats Period, who makes the most exquisite bespoke period hats! It was a beautiful tour, and to my surprise, everyone was so kind with me playacting and scampering over the cliffs, and they even called me Demelza all day!

For the Ball, I MUST have the gold gown! And the beautiful citrine pendant that goes with it! I ordered a swatch from International Silks & Woolens, where I have ordered before. They had a lovely Duchesse silk, but the swatch was too green of a gold, sigh.

Back to Ginny’s, there wasn’t anything in stock that worked, but I showed Ginny the photo of Demelza’s ballgown, and she produced a swatch card from a British company that looked like the same silk that they used on the show! It was crazy expensive, but it was perfect! (I had become clinically obsessed with this project). Now, for the citrine pendant. In the series they used a period piece, so naturally I try Etsy (like we do). I sorta kinda found a costume piece…not so much. Bespoke piece? (Did I mention the bit about being clinically obsessed?) I found Rochester Lapidary Jewelers (even closer than Ginny’s), took photos of the piece to show them, and they were SO nice (a Minnesotan trait). We sourced the stones, they produced a mould. I said more this, less that, rinse repeat, and we came to something close enough as my date of departure for Cornwall approached.

For the gold ballgown, I used the Janet Arnold pattern, and wore a proper corset, bum roll and quilted petticoat. The gown was completely plain, which is why the silk HAD to be heavenly.

I did my hair in a similar way to Eleanor’s in the episode and headed off to the Ball.  The Ball was in a beautiful privately-owned manor house called Trevince and was held as a charity fundraiser for the Air Ambulance rescue Corps. In Cornwall, as you can imagine, there are a lot of twisty roads and if someone has an emergency, it takes so long for help to arrive. So they have an air rescue system to bridge the gap and save more lives, but it needs to be funded.

The event was made extra special because some of the “Poldark” cast were there! No, Aiden was not among them, but we did meet the lovely Heida Reed (Elizabeth), adorable Ellise Chappell (Morwenna) and Christian Brassington, whose terrifying portrayal of the horrible Whitworth went completely against his real-life handsome charming self. The best part for me, was when I met Heida she looked at me and unprompted exclaimed: “You look just like Demelza!” Achievement unlocked!

I have more Demelza fabric for a few more gowns, and there is an unfulfilled desire to ride side-saddle, galloping along the Cornish coast in one of Demelza’s riding habits. So watch out for more of me as Demelza in the future.