Skip to content
Highclere Castle beyond a lawn and a great cedar
Upstairs: Highclere Castle, April 2011. Richard Munckton from Windsor, Melbourne, Australia · CC BY 2.0

ITV · 2010–2015 · and the films

DowntonAbbey

Upstairs is a real castle in Hampshire. The servants’ hall was a set at Ealing Studios. Ring a bell: every other room is somewhere else in Britain.

Ring for a room

17 bells.
17 real places.

The servants’ hall was a set at Ealing; the rooms upstairs and away are spread across Britain. Ring a bell and see where it answers.

0 of 17 bells answered

No bell has rung. The board shows the house itself.

Highclere Castle’s pale stone towers across open parkland
Highclere Castle from the footpath, September 2026. Retrogradez · CC0

The House · answered at

Highclere Castle

Highclere, near Newbury, Hampshire

Filming of the first series begins at Highclere.

The first Downton Abbey series was filmed at Highclere in 2010, and filming continued for six years, followed by the films.

Highclere has been home to the Carnarvon family since 1679.

Open on set days and for booked tours. Autumn “Real Lives & Film Sets” guided tours with the Egyptian Exhibition: adults £145. The spring public opening runs March to June 2027. Book ahead on the castle’s shop site; Newbury RG20 9RN.

The household book

Bampton, Oxfordshire

The village
is a real village.

A stone parish church with a tall spire among trees
St Mary’s, Bampton, 2018. Hugh Llewelyn from Keynsham, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0

Downton’s church

St Mary’s Church, Bampton

St Mary’s plays St Michael and All Angels, Downton’s church, in the series.

The church dates from the 9th century; its spire is 13th-century.

Lady Mary married Matthew Crawley here, and baby Sybil was christened here.

Open daily, 10am–5pm. Church View, Bampton OX18 2LZ.

The household book
A small stone building with mullioned windows on Church View
Bampton Library, the old grammar school, August 2026. Mertbiol · CC0

The cottage hospital

Bampton Library, the old grammar school

The school was built in the mid-1650s with a legacy from Robert Vesey, to educate the children of Bampton.

It was the cottage hospital in Downton Abbey; it now houses Bampton Library and the Bampton Community Archive.

Bampton Library and the community archive work from the building: check the library’s hours before you go.

The household book
A stone house behind a wall beside the churchyard
Churchgate House, Bampton, from the street, August 2026. Mertbiol · CC0

Isobel Crawley’s house

Churchgate House, Bampton

A Grade II listed house that stood in for the outside of Isobel Crawley’s house.

A private house: see it from Church View only.

The household book
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Bampton and Cotswolds tours

From Oxford

Live marketplace results for Downton village and Cotswolds tours from Oxford.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Downton day tours from London

From London

Live marketplace results for coach tours to Highclere and Bampton. Check what each includes: castle entry depends on Highclere’s open days.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

The neighbours

Four calling cards.
Turn them over.

Each card carries a name from the series. The back carries the real address.

Yew Tree FarmAt home
Cavenham ParkAt home
EryholmeAt home
The SwanAt home
The Swan Inn

The Swan Inn, Swinbrook

Swinbrook, near Burford

The riverside inn where Sybil and Branson stop on their way to Gretna Green. Rooms in the old stables and a riverside cottage.

Check rooms

Below stairs

Go down the stairs.
Arrive somewhere else.

The white front of Ealing Studios behind railings
Ealing Studios, west London, 2017. Jim Linwood from London · CC BY 2.0

Ealing Studios

The 2019 film’s production designer says its sets were built at Ealing Studios.

The kitchen, Thomas’s office and the servants’ hall were refurbished or rebuilt; new sets included servants’ bedrooms, a silver room and a wine cellar.

A working film studio: the sets are not open to visitors.

The household book

Away from Downton

The family
request the pleasure.

A grey-green stone castle with round corner turrets
Inveraray Castle, 2014. DeFacto · CC BY-SA 4.0

Christmas 2012 · Duneagle Castle

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray, Argyll · 598 km from Highclere

In the 2012 Christmas special it became Duneagle, home of the Crawleys’ cousins the Marquess and Marchioness of Flintshire.

Thursday to Monday, 10am–4pm, until 26 October 2026, then closed for winter. Castle and gardens: adults £18.50. PA32 8XE.

The household book
Alnwick Castle

Alnwick Castle

Northumberland · Adults £22 online · £24.45 at the gate

Brancaster’s State Rooms, the grounds and guided talks through the day.

Plan a visit

The seating plan

Who sat
at the table.

Julian Fellowes seated in front of Joanne Froggatt, Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Allen Leech and Harry Hadden-Paton on a red carpet
Julian Fellowes (front) with, from left, Joanne Froggatt, Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Allen Leech and Harry Hadden-Paton at the Grand Finale premiere, New York, September 2025, ten years after the series ended. Vbrunophotog · CC BY-SA 4.0
Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton came to film here in 2015 and 2016. The house was Lord Merton’s Cavenham Park.
The household book
When the Grade II* listed house was offered for sale in 2015, Savills said fans would recognise it as the home of Lady Violet Crawley. It is a private home.
The household book
Highclere Castle’s pale stone towers across open parkland
Highclere Castle from the footpath, September 2026. Retrogradez · CC0

Half the house is still dressing.

Highclere, Hampshire

Dinner is served.
The house is real.

The first Downton Abbey series was filmed at Highclere in 2010, and filming continued for six years, followed by the films. Highclere has been home to the Carnarvon family since 1679.

Lady Mary’s bench and the secret garden are in the grounds.

Open on set days and for booked tours. Autumn “Real Lives & Film Sets” guided tours with the Egyptian Exhibition: adults £145. The spring public opening runs March to June 2027. Book ahead on the castle’s shop site; Newbury RG20 9RN.

The household book
Highclere Castle

Real Lives & Film Sets guided tours

Highclere · Autumn 2026 · 10.30am or 1.30pm · adults £145

A guided tour of the castle as a real home and as Downton, the Egyptian Exhibition in the cellars, refreshments in the Coach House and a signed book by Lady Carnarvon.

Book a tour
Highclere Castle

London Lodge and Grotto Lodge, Highclere

Highclere estate

Two restored lodges on the estate, both self-catering. London Lodge, the 1793 gateway to the park, sleeps two (two nights minimum); Grotto Lodge, by Thomas Allom, has two double rooms (three nights minimum). Pictured: the castle across the park.

Check dates

Where it is now

14 places you can visit. Churchgate House and Byfleet Manor are private homes and Ealing Studios is a working studio: they are named here but not on the map.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open on set days and for booked tours. Autumn “Real Lives & Film Sets” guided tours with the Egyptian Exhibition: adults £145. The spring public opening runs March to June 2027. Book ahead on the castle’s shop site; Newbury RG20 9RN.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open daily, 10am–5pm. Church View, Bampton OX18 2LZ.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Bampton Library and the community archive work from the building: check the library’s hours before you go.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open daily from 9.30am. Church Lane, Witney OX28 3LA.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Garden open on selected afternoons, 2–5pm, until 18 October 2026; house and garden adults £12, garden only £8. OX13 5AX.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A National Trust house and garden: check opening days with the Trust before you go.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working inn with rooms beside the River Windrush; 01993 823339.

  1. Highclere Castle’s pale stone towers across open parkland
    Highclere Castle from the footpath, September 2026. Retrogradez · CC0

    Highclere, near Newbury, Hampshire

    Highclere Castle

    The first Downton Abbey series was filmed at Highclere in 2010, and filming continued for six years, followed by the films.

    Open on set days and for booked tours. Autumn “Real Lives & Film Sets” guided tours with the Egyptian Exhibition: adults £145. The spring public opening runs March to June 2027. Book ahead on the castle’s shop site; Newbury RG20 9RN.

    The household book
  2. A stone parish church with a tall spire among trees
    St Mary’s, Bampton, 2018. Hugh Llewelyn from Keynsham, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Church View, Bampton, Oxfordshire · 46 km from Highclere

    St Mary’s Church, Bampton

    St Mary’s plays St Michael and All Angels, Downton’s church, in the series.

    Open daily, 10am–5pm. Church View, Bampton OX18 2LZ.

    The household book
  3. A small stone building with mullioned windows on Church View
    Bampton Library, the old grammar school, August 2026. Mertbiol · CC0

    Church View, Bampton, Oxfordshire · 46 km from Highclere

    Bampton Library, the old grammar school

    The school was built in the mid-1650s with a legacy from Robert Vesey, to educate the children of Bampton.

    Bampton Library and the community archive work from the building: check the library’s hours before you go.

    The household book
  4. A gabled stone manor house with a farmyard in front
    Cogges Manor House, 2012. Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Church Lane, Witney, Oxfordshire · 52 km from Highclere

    Cogges Manor Farm

    The manor house and grounds were used extensively in series 4 to 6.

    Open daily from 9.30am. Church Lane, Witney OX28 3LA.

    The household book
  5. A red-brick country house with stone dressings and a lawn
    Kingston Bagpuize House, 2014. David Hillas · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Kingston Bagpuize, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire · 39 km from Highclere

    Kingston Bagpuize House

    Lord Merton’s house, Cavenham Park, is really Kingston Bagpuize House.

    Garden open on selected afternoons, 2–5pm, until 18 October 2026; house and garden adults £12, garden only £8. OX13 5AX.

    The household book
  6. A gabled Tudor house of brick and flint
    Greys Court, 2018. Prosthetic Head · CC BY-SA 4.0

    Rotherfield Greys, near Henley-on-Thames · 37 km from Highclere

    Greys Court

    The Tudor house appears in the series when the Crawleys visit it as “Eryholme”.

    A National Trust house and garden: check opening days with the Trust before you go.

    The household book
  7. A stone inn with wisteria beside a river meadow
    The Swan Inn, Swinbrook, July 2026. Vintage Fan 5678 · CC0

    Swinbrook, near Burford, Oxfordshire · 56 km from Highclere

    The Swan Inn, Swinbrook

    Lady Sybil and Branson stayed here before their attempt to elope to Gretna Green.

    A working inn with rooms beside the River Windrush; 01993 823339.

    The household book

Stay

Sleep on the estate.

Highclere’s own lodges, and the riverside inn of the elopement.

Highclere Castle

London Lodge and Grotto Lodge, Highclere

Highclere estate

Two restored lodges on the estate, both self-catering. London Lodge, the 1793 gateway to the park, sleeps two (two nights minimum); Grotto Lodge, by Thomas Allom, has two double rooms (three nights minimum). Pictured: the castle across the park.

Check dates
The Swan Inn

The Swan Inn, Swinbrook

Swinbrook, near Burford

The riverside inn where Sybil and Branson stop on their way to Gretna Green. Rooms in the old stables and a riverside cottage.

Check rooms

Go there

Book the house.

Highclere’s guided tours, Brancaster’s state rooms, and day tours from London and Oxford.

Highclere Castle

Real Lives & Film Sets guided tours

Highclere · Autumn 2026 · 10.30am or 1.30pm · adults £145

A guided tour of the castle as a real home and as Downton, the Egyptian Exhibition in the cellars, refreshments in the Coach House and a signed book by Lady Carnarvon.

Book a tour
Highclere Castle

Wintertime castle tours

Highclere · January 2027 · adults £145

Groups of about 20: the castle, the Egyptian Exhibition and the gardens, with refreshments. Gates close at 4pm.

Book a tour
Alnwick Castle

Alnwick Castle

Northumberland · Adults £22 online · £24.45 at the gate

Brancaster’s State Rooms, the grounds and guided talks through the day.

Plan a visit
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Downton day tours from London

From London

Live marketplace results for coach tours to Highclere and Bampton. Check what each includes: castle entry depends on Highclere’s open days.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Bampton and Cotswolds tours

From Oxford

Live marketplace results for Downton village and Cotswolds tours from Oxford.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

Christmas, then Tutankhamun.

Lady Carnarvon’s Christmas talks in December, and the February tours down to the Egyptian cellars.

Checking current event dates…

Take it home

Books and the score.

The book of the series, Highclere’s own histories and John Lunn’s music.

Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

The World of Downton Abbey

Jessica Fellowes

The book of the series: the house, the family and the staff.

Find the book
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey

The Countess of Carnarvon

Highclere’s own history, by the Countess of Carnarvon.

Find the book
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

The Earl and the Pharaoh

The Countess of Carnarvon

The 5th Earl, Howard Carter and the tomb.

Find the book
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Downton Abbey: The Ultimate Collection

John Lunn · 2 CD, 2015

John Lunn’s score for the series.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

John Lunn · CD, 2025

The score for the last film.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The household book

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

17 of 17 places · 18 of 18 Moments

  • Highclere Castle

    Highclere, near Newbury, Hampshire

    • The house

      Filming of the first series begins at Highclere.

    • The sealed door

      The 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter stand outside Tutankhamun’s tomb.

  • St Mary’s Church, Bampton

    Church View, Bampton, Oxfordshire

    • Mary and Matthew

      Lady Mary marries Matthew Crawley in the village church.

  • Bampton Library, the old grammar school

    Church View, Bampton, Oxfordshire

    • The cottage hospital

      The old grammar school plays Downton’s cottage hospital.

  • Churchgate House, Bampton

    Church View, Bampton, Oxfordshire

    • Isobel’s house

      Churchgate House plays the outside of Isobel Crawley’s house.

  • Cogges Manor Farm

    Church Lane, Witney, Oxfordshire

    • Yew Tree Farm

      Lady Edith’s child is brought up at Yew Tree Farm.

  • Kingston Bagpuize House

    Kingston Bagpuize, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire

    • Cavenham Park

      Kingston Bagpuize plays Lord Merton’s house.

  • Greys Court

    Rotherfield Greys, near Henley-on-Thames

    • Eryholme

      The Crawleys visit Eryholme.

  • The Swan Inn, Swinbrook

    Swinbrook, near Burford, Oxfordshire

    • The elopement

      Sybil and Branson stop at the inn on the way to Gretna Green.

  • Basildon Park

    Lower Basildon, near Reading, Berkshire

    • Grantham House

      The Crawleys’ London house.

  • West Wycombe Park

    West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

    • Lady Rosamund’s

      Lady Rosamund’s London house at 35 Belgrave Square.

  • Wrest Park

    Silsoe, Bedfordshire

    • Villa Rocabella

      Wrest Park stands in for Lady Violet’s French villa.

  • Lacock

    Lacock, Wiltshire

    • The livestock market

      A 1920s livestock market fills the village streets.

  • Byfleet Manor

    Byfleet, Surrey

    • The Dower House

      Lady Violet Crawley’s house.

  • Ealing Studios

    Ealing Green, west London

    • Downstairs

      The servants’ hall, the kitchen and Thomas’s office are rebuilt at Ealing for the film.

  • Wentworth Woodhouse

    Wentworth, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire

    • The ball

      The film’s ball is shot at Wentworth Woodhouse.

  • Alnwick Castle

    Alnwick, Northumberland

    • A Moorland Holiday

      The Crawleys go north to a shooting party at Brancaster Castle.

  • Inveraray Castle

    Inveraray, Argyll

    • Duneagle

      The family travel to Scotland to stay with the Flintshires.

Privacy