Downton Abbey or Highclere Castle?

“Downton Abbey or Highclere Castle?” you ask.  “Well,” you think to yourself, “it definitely looks like Downton Abbey but what is this other Castle that is mentioned?

Either answer would be correct but the most correct answer would be Highclere Castle.

Highclere Castle is the name of this amazing structure but its “stage name”, if you like, is Downton Abbey.  It is the location of the very popular TV series that has been running for the past couple of years, the third season of  the series having just started on PBS.

The series starts out just after the sinking of the Titanic and before the “Great War” or World War I, as it is now known.  The second season goes through the war and takes us to this side of the war which is where the third season picks up.

It is the gripping story of a family, Lord and Lady Grantham (played by Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern) and their three girls, and the goings on of their daily lives.   Lord Grantham is forced into marrying his now wife at a very early age as the coffers at the stately home are getting low and an infusion of cash is needed.  His now wife, Cora, is the daughter of wealthy Americans and her money comes with the marriage.  A short while after marrying Cora, Lord Grantham realizes that he has fallen in love with her.  They go on to have three girls, who are brought up in the world of privilege.  And we, as the viewing public, get to see all the ins and outs both from the “upstairs” (the aristocrats) vantage point and that of the “downstairs” (the servants).

It is a spell binding series and well worth tuning into as, along with the fictional tale, comes a lot of historical (as well as hysterical!) value, and certainly a footprint of the lifestyle of those times.

The real Highclere Castle has been a homestead since the 8th century and home to the Carnarvon family, since 1679.  The current Lord Carnarvon lives at the Castle with his wife, Lady Carnarvon.

Interestingly enough, the real Castle went through a lot of what the fictional Downton Abbey experienced.  In 1895, when the Castle was in great need of funds, the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon married Almina Wombwell and with this union came her wealth!  History suggests that this was his only motive for wanting her hand in marriage.  He needed the money and she wanted the title!  During World War I, Almina turned the Castle into a hospital, just as Downton Abbey became in the television series.  The Fifth Earl of Carnarvon is the person who funded (albeit his wife’s money) the trek, with Howard Carter, to Egypt and subsequent finding of King Turankhamun’s tomb.  He died shortly after the tomb was found from a mosquito bite he got whilst on this trek.  To read more about the real Highclere Castle, you might like to purchase this book.

Getting back to the PBS series, Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith, as always, does a magnificent job in playing the role of Lord Grantham’s mother and Shirley MacLaine has just appeared from the United States for the first time as Lady Grantham’s  wealthy mother.

Downton Abbey – well worth a “look see”.

Joyously,