Four years after the final series of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes’s hugely popular ITV drama about an aristocratic family and their servants is making its big-screen debut. In the story, only two years have elapsed on his fictional Yorkshire country estate. It’s now 1927 and the Crawley family is to be honoured with a royal visit. Some things haven’t changed, though: Dame Maggie Smith still gets all the best lines and most delicious putdowns, and the main setting is Highclere Castle, a 5,000-acre estate on the Hampshire/Berkshire borders. There are also cameos by two imposing stately homes in Yorkshire that are well worth a visit, Harewood House and Wentworth Woodhouse.
HIGHCLERE CASTLE
It was the third Earl of Carnarvon who commissioned Sir Charles Barry, who was working on the Houses of Parliament at the time, to transform his Georgian house into a flamboyant neoGothic palace in the 1840s. But over the years it declined and, a decade ago, it was riddled with damp, the fairy-tale stone turrets were crumbling, many of its 200-plus rooms were uninhabitable, and the owners, the eighth Earl and Countess, faced a £12 million repair bill. Luckily, they are friends of Downton creator Julian Fellowes, who is said to have been partly inspired to write the series after staying there, and its fortunes were revived by Downton’s success.
Downton devotees can explore the lavish state rooms and climb the grand oak staircase to the familiar first-floor bedrooms. Visitors don’t get to see the kitchen, as life downstairs was filmed in a studio, but there are Ancient Egyptian antiquities in the cellar and an exhibition about Egyptologist Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. His patron was the fifth Earl, who died six weeks later, leading to speculation that he’d been cursed. Two gatehouses have been converted into selfcatering holiday homes, from £425 a night (servants not included), and you can even buy Highclere Castle gin and champagne in the gift shop. For more information, and for tickets for autumn events, visit highclerecastle.co.uk
HAREWOOD HOUSE
This beautifully preserved 18th-century pile on the outskirts of Leeds has also appeared in the ITV drama Victoria. In 1922, Princess Mary – the daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, and sister of our current Queen’s father, George VI – married into the Lascelles family, who have owned Harewood since it was built (from 1759). After the death of her fatherin-law, she moved to Harewood with her husband, Henry, the sixth Earl, and their two sons, and lived there until her death in 1965. Princess Mary is a character in the Downton film (played by Kate Phillips of Peaky Blinders) and the house plays itself – look out for a lavish ball scene in which guests dance on the terrace designed by Sir Charles Barry. Later this month, the Princess Royal’s letters, diaries and personal belongings will be displayed around the house, and a “royal afternoon tea” will be served in the Billiard Room. As well as its royal pedigree, Harewood has some of Robert Adam’s finest ceiling designs, furniture made by Yorkshire lad Thomas Chippendale and parkland landscaped by Lancelot “Capability” Brown. The art collection includes works by Italian Renaissance masters, Sèvres china and watercolours by JMW Turner. Children may prefer the adventure playground, petting farm and bird garden with a colony of Humboldt penguins. The estate, with more than 100 acres of gardens, also houses a number of self-catering cottages (from £500 per week) and the Emmerdale village, which is open for tours on certain weekends. Harewood has an eclectic calendar of events. This month there will be outdoor film screenings and performances by Tibetan monks. Adult tickets are £15 (visitors in Downton-era dress will be given free entry on 13 September). Emmerdale tours (£34) must be booked separately. For more information, visit harewood.org or emmerdalestudioexperience.co.uk
WENTWORTH WOODHOUSE
The 600ft east façade of this stately home near Rotherham stood in for Buckingham Palace – which is about half its size – in the film Darkest Hour. Wentworth Woodhouse is split into three: the original Jacobean manor, a Baroque westfacing section and Palladian east front. In its heyday there were more than 1,000 staff, including a “state bed-maker” and a rat-catcher, to look after its 365 rooms. In the 1950s and 60s, it was a training college for women PE teachers, who played badminton in the Marble Saloon – where a ball was filmed for Downton Abbey – and in the 80s it became a Sheffield student campus. In 2017, it was sold for £7 million to the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust, who have the mammoth task of reversing decades of decay. The Government gave a £7.6m grant, but the final repair bill is expected to top £100m. You can take a guided tour of the formal rooms, the private family quarters, the garden and even the scaffolded rooftop. This autumn’s events include an evening of Georgian opera, a Regency ball and lectures on historic gardens. Adult tickets for house tours are £22, and garden or rooftop tours £12 (half-price for National Trust members). For details see wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk
Four years after the final series of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes’s hugely popular ITV drama about an aristocratic family and their servants is making its big-screen debut. In the story, only two years have elapsed on his fictional Yorkshire country estate. It’s now 1927 and the Crawley family is to be honoured with a royal visit. Some things haven’t changed, though: Dame Maggie Smith still gets all the best lines and most delicious putdowns, and the main setting is Highclere Castle, a 5,000-acre estate on the Hampshire/Berkshire borders. There are also cameos by two imposing stately homes in Yorkshire that are well worth a visit, Harewood House and Wentworth Woodhouse.
HIGHCLERE CASTLE
It was the third Earl of Carnarvon who commissioned Sir Charles Barry, who was working on the Houses of Parliament at the time, to transform his Georgian house into a flamboyant neoGothic palace in the 1840s. But over the years it declined and, a decade ago, it was riddled with damp, the fairy-tale stone turrets were crumbling, many of its 200-plus rooms were uninhabitable, and the owners, the eighth Earl and Countess, faced a £12 million repair bill. Luckily, they are friends of Downton creator Julian Fellowes, who is said to have been partly inspired to write the series after staying there, and its fortunes were revived by Downton’s success.
Downton devotees can explore the lavish state rooms and climb the grand oak staircase to the familiar first-floor bedrooms. Visitors don’t get to see the kitchen, as life downstairs was filmed in a studio, but there are Ancient Egyptian antiquities in the cellar and an exhibition about Egyptologist Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. His patron was the fifth Earl, who died six weeks later, leading to speculation that he’d been cursed. Two gatehouses have been converted into selfcatering holiday homes, from £425 a night (servants not included), and you can even buy Highclere Castle gin and champagne in the gift shop. For more information, and for tickets for autumn events, visit highclerecastle.co.uk
HAREWOOD HOUSE
This beautifully preserved 18th-century pile on the outskirts of Leeds has also appeared in the ITV drama Victoria. In 1922, Princess Mary – the daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, and sister of our current Queen’s father, George VI – married into the Lascelles family, who have owned Harewood since it was built (from 1759). After the death of her fatherin-law, she moved to Harewood with her husband, Henry, the sixth Earl, and their two sons, and lived there until her death in 1965. Princess Mary is a character in the Downton film (played by Kate Phillips of Peaky Blinders) and the house plays itself – look out for a lavish ball scene in which guests dance on the terrace designed by Sir Charles Barry. Later this month, the Princess Royal’s letters, diaries and personal belongings will be displayed around the house, and a “royal afternoon tea” will be served in the Billiard Room. As well as its royal pedigree, Harewood has some of Robert Adam’s finest ceiling designs, furniture made by Yorkshire lad Thomas Chippendale and parkland landscaped by Lancelot “Capability” Brown. The art collection includes works by Italian Renaissance masters, Sèvres china and watercolours by JMW Turner. Children may prefer the adventure playground, petting farm and bird garden with a colony of Humboldt penguins. The estate, with more than 100 acres of gardens, also houses a number of self-catering cottages (from £500 per week) and the Emmerdale village, which is open for tours on certain weekends. Harewood has an eclectic calendar of events. This month there will be outdoor film screenings and performances by Tibetan monks. Adult tickets are £15 (visitors in Downton-era dress will be given free entry on 13 September). Emmerdale tours (£34) must be booked separately. For more information, visit harewood.org or emmerdalestudioexperience.co.uk
WENTWORTH WOODHOUSE
The 600ft east façade of this stately home near Rotherham stood in for Buckingham Palace – which is about half its size – in the film Darkest Hour. Wentworth Woodhouse is split into three: the original Jacobean manor, a Baroque westfacing section and Palladian east front. In its heyday there were more than 1,000 staff, including a “state bed-maker” and a rat-catcher, to look after its 365 rooms. In the 1950s and 60s, it was a training college for women PE teachers, who played badminton in the Marble Saloon – where a ball was filmed for Downton Abbey – and in the 80s it became a Sheffield student campus. In 2017, it was sold for £7 million to the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust, who have the mammoth task of reversing decades of decay. The Government gave a £7.6m grant, but the final repair bill is expected to top £100m. You can take a guided tour of the formal rooms, the private family quarters, the garden and even the scaffolded rooftop. This autumn’s events include an evening of Georgian opera, a Regency ball and lectures on historic gardens. Adult tickets for house tours are £22, and garden or rooftop tours £12 (half-price for National Trust members). For details see wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk