A sign in Downton village points to "Ripon 9 Miles" and "Thirsk 6 Miles" in opposite directions. This places Downton to the east of the Great North Road (the modern-day A1), somewhere in the vicinity of Skipton-on-Swale or Topcliffe.
While Downton is a fictional town, it's set in the very real Yorkshire County in Northern England. Very little of the series was actually filmed in Yorkshire, but many of its towns — Leeds, Richmond, Ripon, Middlesbrough and Thirsk — are all mentioned by characters in the show.
Where in Yorkshire is Downton Abbey supposed to be?
Downton Abbey is a fictional North Yorkshire estate and towns such as Easingwold, Thirsk and Ripon were referenced throughout the six series of the show, which ended in 2015. Harewood, between Leeds and Harrogate, is already well-known for its appearances as Buckingham Palace in ITV period drama Victoria.
Where is Downton Abbey supposed to be located near?
Highclere Castle
As most Downton fans are aware, this is the grand estate that started it all. Highclere Castle, which in reality is the home of Lord and Lady Carnarvon, is located in Hampshire (a two-hour drive from London) and stars as the namesake estate in the Downton Abbey series and movie.
Downton Abbey: What You Didn't Know About The Shooting Place
Was Downton Abbey in Yorkshire?
Perhaps the most famous British TV series of the last decade, Downton Abbey, was set in the fictional Yorkshire estate of Downton; and although Hampshire's Highclere Castle was chosen to be the titular home of the Crawley family, the sequel film will include plenty of Yorkshire landmarks for eagle-eyed viewers to spot.
Downton Abbey is set in Yorkshire and there are references to real Yorkshire places, like York, Harrogate, Ripon and Malton. However, most of the scenes were filmed in the south of England, including London. Some places have no public access and some can be viewed only from the outside.
A country house with grand gardens, it's no surprise Harewood House's majestic exterior was used in scenes in the first Downton Abbey movie, where Lord and Lady Grantham's neighbours host a ball.
Some are well known, such as Castle Howard for Brideshead Revisited, Goathland for the ever-popular Heartbeat or Thirsk and area for the perennial favourite All Creatures Great and Small.
Thirsk is a market town in North Yorkshire, England. It is located approximately 23 miles north of York. The town has a population of around 5,000 people.
Host to a wealth of museums, churches, blue plaque walks, galleries and gardens Thirsk has plenty to offer anyone wanting to know more about this historic market town.
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.
Where were the railway scenes in Downton Abbey filmed?
The Downton Abbey Railway Station was filmed at the Horsted Keynes Station in West Sussex. It is where Mary waved Matthew off to war and where young Mrs. Crawley goes into early labor. The station is on the Bluebell Railway heritage line.
Was any of Downton Abbey filmed at Buckingham Palace?
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.
Princess Mary lived at Harewood for more than 30 years. She moved here with the husband the 6th Earl in 1929 and died here while walking round the lake with her son in 1965. She was daughter of George V, sister to Edward VIII and George VI and aunt to our present day HM Queen Elizabeth II.
As part of a series of visits around the UK in her Golden Jubilee year, The Queen visited Harewood where she was enthusiastically welcomed by people from across the county.
Over the winter months, Harewood House was used as a location for the new ITV period drama, Victoria. The programme chronicles the life of Queen Victoria and has been filmed in locations throughout Yorkshire. Both the State Floor and Below Stairs at Harewood have been used for what promises to be a fascinating series.
The property, which is located in Yorkshire, has confirmed that it was a filming location for the Downton Abbey movie. And while the film takes place in 1927, Princess Mary didn't actually move in to Harewood House until 1929, after her father-in-law passed away. (A fact that is very quickly addressed in the story.)
The museum's striking 1900s Town street, complete with trundling trams, was the perfect backdrop for both the Downton Abbey film and the Christmas special of the TV series in 2015. Visitors to Beamish's 1900s Town can discover what life was like in a North East town in the years leading up to the First World War.
Nestled deep in the country, near Bakewell, in Derbyshire, the grand Chatsworth House will be familiar to fans of historical dramas such as Downton Abbey and was believed to have inspired one of the world's most admired writer's, Jane Austen.
