Visit beautiful Blenheim Palace, where Sir Winston Churchill was born and raised. See some iconic filming locations from the popular BBC TV series 'Downton Abbey': the home of Isobel Crawley, the Downton Cottage Hospital, and the village church.
The popular ITV period drama Downton Abbey is filmed at Hampshire's Highclere Castle to the north of the county. Set within 1000 acres of parkland, the castle and its grounds double as the Downton Abbey estate, home to the fictional Crawley family.
Films shot at the exteriors include Spectre while the interior has been used as a filming location for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation among others.
Now world-famous thanks to its starring role as Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle has become one of England's most visited destinations. Open to the public between July and September, be sure to book in advance to explore the Jacobean manor house with ornately-decorated rooms.
Highclere Castle is most recognizable to the world as the real life location of the TV show—and much anticipated movie, out September 20—Downton Abbey.
Firstly there is no place called Downtown Abbey. Neither is there a place called Downton Abbey, the correct name for the TV series and film. As others have said, much of the series was filmed at Highclere Castle, in Hampshire a few miles south of Newbury.
The fictional Crawleys are based on the Earls and Countesses of Carnarvon, who still reside at Highclere Castle, where the series is filmed (though the fictional Downton Abbey is in Yorkshire, rather than Hampshire, where Highclere is).
How much does Downton Abbey pay to use Highclere Castle?
For all the fame it brought Highclere, Carnarvon says the fee for the production of Downton Abbey 'was just enough to keep me in cappuccinos' – meaning not a lot (one estimate puts it at about £5,000 a day).
Today, Highclere is home to George Herbert and his wife Fiona, the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon (Lord and Lady Carnarvon), owners of the 'real' Downton Abbey house.
It represents a unique architectural achievement celebrating the triumph of the English armies over the French, and the Palace and its associated Park have exerted great influence on the English Romantic movement which was characterised by the eclecticism of its inspiration, its return to natural sources and its love ...
Many of the show's scenes at Buckingham House (now known as Buckingham Palace) were filmed at Blenheim Palace – including the key dining moment between young Queen Charlotte and King George, and the famous Water Terraces which were magically transformed into the enchanting outdoor space where the final ball takes place ...
Home to the 12th Duke of Marlborough and his family and the birth place of Sir Winston Churchill, Blenheim Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site boasting a long and diverse history.
Highclere Castle, the historic seat of the Earl of Carnarvon, has welcomed the Queen on a number of occasions. In July 1949, a young Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, visited the Jacobean stately home, which was built in 1679, prior to her coronation almost 4 years later on June 2, 1953.
There are 19 State Rooms in total, and whilst the filmmakers would have you believe parts of Downton Abbey were shot here, no filming actually took place inside Buckingham Palace. Interior scenes were filmed at Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire (closed to the public) and Wentworth Woodhouse in Rotherham instead.
The huge global success of Downton, according to Lady Fiona Carnarvon, has funded a rolling programme of building repairs aimed at safeguarding Highclere for the next generation. “It's been an amazing magic carpet ride for all of us,” she said.
Yes - Highclere Castle where it is filmed is still in existence and is still a stately home - owned by Lord Caernarvon. But Downton is set at time when things were about to change. Almost all country houses were requisitioned in the Second World War - some never recovered.
More recently, in 2021, the castle was the venue for the nuptials of the late Queen's godson, the Hon. Harry Herbert, son of the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, and glamorous TV chef Clodagh McKenna.
Because it used to be an Abbey. Many British “stately homes” used to be Abbeys. Between 1536 and 1541, King Henry VIII disbanded a whole bunch of monasteries [1] and sold them off to wealthy landowners. Some converted them to homes.
How much does it cost to stay one night at Highclere Castle?
The cost of a night's stay at Highclere Castle is $186.36. The reservation is first come, first served. What can you expect? The castle sits on more than 1,000 acres and boasts 300 rooms.
Whilst you cannot stay inside Highclere Castle, you can book a room at one of the two properties located on the Highclere Estate. There are also many nearby hotels and B&B's that provide a perfect base to explore Highclere Castle and the surrounding countryside.
'There are around 200 to 300 rooms and between 50 to 80 bedrooms,' says Fiona, 8th Countess of Carnarvon of Highclere Castle, the ancestral home propelled to fame as the location for Downton Abbey in the popular TV series.
This books tells the real story of Highclere Castle, upon which the fictional Downton Abbey is based. Catherine Wendell was an American who married into the Almina family (she married Lady Almina's son). Her husband would become known as the 6th Earl of Carnarvon.
She is also prevented from inheriting the Downton estate because of something called 'entail'. Like primogeniture, entail (also called fee tail) was a feudal institution designed to prop up the landed aristocracy by ensuring that property could pass from one heir to the next without being broken up and sold off.
