Where was the Downton Abbey movie filmed?
From Highclere Castle to Lacock village, take a look at the filming locations for Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey is back – and, naturally, the movie includes some spectacular filming locations. Here are all the details you need to know...
Where is Downton Abbey set?
Downton Abbey is set in a fictional Yorkshire country estate, located near a fictional village.
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Where is Downton Abbey filmed?
Both the ITV drama and the feature film were shot at Highclere Castle in north Hampshire.
Highclere was used for exterior shots of Downton Abbey, and for most of the interior filming including the dining hall and the entrance room and the staircase.
The kitchen and servants' quarters were constructed and filmed at Ealing Studios in London throughout the TV series, and for the film, sets were constructed at Shepperton Studios in Surrey – including the post office, the Carsons' cottage, and Downton's wine cellar.
Highclere Castle actually belongs to the Earl and Countess Carnarvon, who have fully embraced their home's status as the real Downton Abbey. As for seeing the family home on screen, the Countess of Carnarvon told RadioTimes.com: "It always makes you feel slightly odd!"
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She added: "I love the magic of film. When Jim Carter – Mr Carson – started walking down our staff stone staircase here, they rebuilt the bottom five or six steps on a film set, so two weeks later he’d come out in Ealing Studios! I love that."
And Highclere is more than just a home, or a film set; it also does does weddings, tours, Christmas fairs, high teas, special dinners, concerts, and exhibitions.
"Highclere has had a career break and we’re working hard to see how we can make best use of it," the Countess of Carnarvon said.
Where is the village in Downton Abbey?
Filming for the Downton Abbey movie took place in Lacock, a village in Wiltshire. The village was already period-ready with quaint cottages and historic streets, and the film crew added Union Jack bunting and draped flags out of residents' windows to get ready for a royal parade.
Producer Gareth Neame said: “The parade scene featured 350 extras including real-life Lacock villagers in period-accurate costumes and 80 soldiers on horseback, plus a royal carriage."
Further scenes were filmed at Beamish Museum, an open-air museum in County Durham, which helped create Mr Bakewell's Shop (i.e. where Mrs Patmore does her shopping).
Throughout Downton, many outdoor scenes have been shot in the village of Bampton, Oxfordshire. Bampton Library stood in for Downton Cottage Hospital, while Churchgate House became Isobel Crawley's house.
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Where did they film 'Buckingham Palace'?
Interiors for the royal scenes were shot at Wrotham Park, a country house in Hertfordshire previously seen on screen in Mr Sense and Sensibility, Gosford Park, Vanity Fair, Bridget Jones's Diary, and Kingsman: The Secret Service.
Where did they film the ballroom scene?
In the Downton Abbey movie, one stop on the royal tour of Yorkshire is Harewood House – where the Lord and Lady Grantham's neighbours are preparing to throw a spectacular ball.
Exteriors were filmed at the real Harewood House (and the drawing rooms can also be seen in some scenes), but the ballroom scenes set at Harewood were actually filmed at Wentworth House.
The Downton Abbey movie will be released on Friday 13th September 2019
