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Published: June 20th 2014
On the entrance door
A black metal wolf holding part of a deer's leg in its mouth welcomes you!First, I have to tell you that I didn't watch any of the programmes - period drama rarely rocks my boat. My wife Pat and millions of others did, however. If you weren't one of them, you can still watch it, for a small fee, on the
itvPlayer. It won several awards and starred Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern. It's thought to be one of the most widely-watched television drama shows in the world. So, maybe you
have seen it - and maybe I should be sad I missed it (although I'm not!).
Anyhow, research tells me that the four series and Christmas Specials covered the end of the Edwardian era in 1912, through the Great War and on to the summer of 1923. The tales were set in a fictional country house somewhere in Yorkshire
(the UK's largest county, in Northern England) and that the house was called 'Downton Abbey', the home of Robert and Cora Crawley, the Earl and Countess of Grantham. The drama followed the
'Downton Abbey'
In reality, it's Highclere Castle. trials and tribulations of the Crawley family and their servants during the reign of King George V, starting with news of the family heir's demise aboard the Titanic. Not a bundle of laughs in my book, but each to their own...
Exterior filming for the series took place at numerous locations around the country, including Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Kent, London, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex, and even Argyll in Scotland, but apparently not in Yorkshire, where it was all supposed to have happened.
The servants' quarters, working areas, the kitchen and some of the family's bedrooms were constructed at Ealing Studios. However, the main location - for exterior shots of 'Downton Abbey' and for most of the interior filming - was
Highclere Castle. It's in the county of Hampshire, south-east England, about 70 miles (116 kms) from London.
It's ideal for a pensioners' day out and, on a glorious sunny day in late-April, we joined others of a certain age on a tour to this interesting place. Yes, it's an interesting place even if one isn't particularly interested in 'Downton Abbey'! However, be warned that since acquiring television fame, it's no longer a place where you can just turn up
The Saloon
From a Highclere postcard - interior photography isn't permitted! and expect to be let in - you have to pre-book tickets for specified entry times. It was fully booked when we enquired last year and it probably is, by now, for this year!
This grand country house is set in 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) of parkland in which the noted 18th-century landscape architect Lancelot 'Capability' Brown had a hand. Although inhabited since medieval times, what you see today is a Victorian mansion. It was designed and built in what I think is described as
Jacobethan style, a mish-mash of Jacobean and Elizabethan, by Sir Charles Barry, the architect of our Houses of Parliament in London.
For the past 300 years, Highclere Castle has been the home of the Earls of Carnarvon - and herein is the clue to the Tutankhamun connection! It was the 5th Earl of Carnarvon who in 1922, with archaeologist Howard Carter, discovered Tut's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. In Highclere's cellars, the present 8th Earl and Countess have created an exhibition with a mix of genuine artefacts that had been squirrelled away in cupboards until re-discovered in 1987 plus some 60 remarkably accurate wall paintings and replicas. Such things as an
ancient mummy, a sarcophagus and even Tut's gold funerary mask have been convincingly recreated. There's even a wall with postbox-like flaps, through which you can peer to see a replica of Tutankhamun's tomb as Carter and Lord Carnarvon found it, dark, dusty and piled high with treasure.
We enjoyed the house itself - the dark mahogany of The Library, the gilded panels and silk embroideries of The Music Room, the impressive vaulted ceiling of The Saloon, and a mighty Van Dyck portrait in the Dining Room of King Charles I on horseback. Pat particularly enjoyed the staircases and The Saloon, all of which had featured prominently in nearly every episode of 'Downton Abbey'.
For me though, the highlights were the gardens. The Monks' Garden stands on the site of what was probably a medicinal and vegetable garden created in the 12th century when the land was owned by the Bishops of Winchester. Now planted with euphorbias, lavender and roses, it was attractive today in springtime sunshine and it will certainly be very colourful in the height of summer. Behind a high yew hedge, there's an intriguing border, filled with plants like tulips and paeonies bearing only white flowers.
In the White Border
This is a tulip ...an unusual one! A gate leads from there to a Secret Garden with lawns and winding herbaceous borders. Elsewhere, extensive parkland, wildflower meadows, tree-lined walks, spreading cedars and woodland with ancient oak trees complete the picture of what was - and continues to be - a remarkable stately home. Everywhere is maintained to an exceptionally high standard. Doubtless, a fifth series of 'Downton Abbey' is on the cards...!
Scroll down for more photos, complete with captions. Double Click on pictures to enlarge them. The panorama at the top of the page is part of a slideshow too.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Downtown Abbey
We have not seen the show but many of our friends have and keep recommending it. Thanks for taking us along on this day trip.