What is Downton Abbey?
Downton Abbey is a British historical drama television series created by Julian Fellowes, broadcast on ITV from 2010 to 2015. It follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in a grand country house in the early 1900s.
The series begins in 1912 with the sinking of the Titanic and continues through World War I and the 1920s.
It explores the lives of the family upstairs and the servants downstairs, showing how social change affected both.
Highclere Castle
The exterior and many interior scenes were filmed at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon. The castle became a popular tourist attraction because of the show.
The series won many awards, including Emmy Awards and Golden Globes. It was especially popular in the United States.
Maggie Smith, who played the Dowager Countess, Violet Crawley, became famous for her witty lines.
The series was followed by films, released in 2019, 2022 and 2025. Downton Abbey is credited with renewing global interest in British period dramas.
Hugh Bonneville played Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham, and the cast also included Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern and Jim Carter as the butler, Mr Carson. The series was praised for its costumes, music and detailed recreation of the period.