If you’ve ever fancied yourself as “Downton Abbey’s” Lady Mary, or have a hankering to be naughty footman Thomas Barrow, fly over the pond to Hampshire, England, and head to Highclere Castle, home of the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon.
Highclere Castle, which plays the part of the titular Downton Abbey itself and is most recognizable from the opening credits of the TV show, celebrates its fame in style, throwing open its doors to visitors on a regular basis, often with special happenings and Downton-themed events.
The Highclere calendar is certainly full. Since “Downton Abbey” first aired in 2010, there’s been a stream of visitors to the enormous Jacobethan palace, built in 1679. It’s just a two-hour drive or train ride from London. Guests can walk the grounds, designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and take tours of parts of the 300-room house. (It’s about $9 per person for admission to the grounds, and some $21 for the grounds plus the castle.)
There were initially very few props in the “Downton Abbey” series, due to a small budget, so the Carnarvons’ own furniture was pressed into duty as the Granthams’ — consequently, you’ll recognize those red sofas in the drawing room where Dame Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, held court, and the extremely valuable (reportedly $15 million) Van Dyck painting of Charles I that looms large over the dining room.
Visitors are able to descend those impressive staircases as if they were Lady Rose attending a ball and also peer into the bedrooms that in “Downton” saw all sorts of scandal.
Special events vary throughout the year, with Lady Carnarvon giving talks on subjects including the art and architecture of Highclere, plus evening cocktail events and galas. Next May, she’ll be talking about “Living in a Castle”, which explores life with an ever-present film crew, and how the castle once welcomed royalty in real life — a theme plucked straight from the movie.
Earlier this month, in celebration of the Sept. 20 release of the much-anticipated “Downton Abbey” movie, guests were encouraged to wear their period finest, whether from the era of the series’ start in 1912 or through to the movie, which picks up where the series left off in the 1920s.
Earl Carnarvon (the real-life Lord Grantham) judged the best Lady Cora Grantham (played by Elizabeth McGovern in the series), while Lady Carnarvon picked her favorite Lord Grantham (played by Hugh Bonneville on the small and big screens). Some of the current staff selected the best-dressed butlers and maids. Add to that a carousel, 1920s dancers, bands and a costume exhibition, and it’s quite the Downton party.
“I hoped to make our guests feel they are all on set and dressed for ‘Downton’ — a real experience,” Lady Carnavon says. “Having established the [Downton] weekend, we will again hold one next year.”
At other times, you can also see the Carnavons’ curated Egyptian exhibition.
“The 5th Earl of Carnarvon discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, which is thought to be the first global world media event,” says Lady Carnarvon. (Fun fact: Smith took Lady Carnarvon aside during the filming of “Downton Abbey” and asked for a personal peek at the King Tut relics.)
If you’ve worked up an appetite during your visit, there’s a fine tea room for your delectation, and of course, there’s a gift shop. You won’t find any “Downton Abbey”-themed items here, though — for that, you’ll have to go 40 miles north, to Bampton in Oxfordshire, which stands in as Downton village. The church hall there has put together a fine exhibit of photos, location maps and gifts, with proceeds going to local causes.
At Highclere’s shop, however, you will be able to pick up a bottle of their premium dry London gin, just released in the US and available in New York as of October.
The unmistakable image of Highclere Castle is front and center of the regal-looking purple-blue bottle, along with a highly creative barcode that mirrors the castle silhouette, so there’s a bit of a blend of real life and fiction — something Lady Carnarvon likes to call “a delightful muddle.”
“People come to see Downton Abbey and find they are in Highclere Castle, and people come to Highclere Castle and realize they are in Downton Abbey,” she says. “No point in worrying about it.”
However, she admits that “Downton Abbey does give us a stronger brand. The phenomenal series and now a film gives us high visibility — we try to underpin that with our own authenticity.”
The gin is the second commercial venture for Highclere Castle, which started with a line of luxury cigars in 2017.
“We thought we’d test the market for cigars to see if there’s a market for luxury and lifestyle products from Highclere Castle,” says Lady Carnarvon. “It’s not only been a fun project but a very successful one. So having realized the success of that gave us the encouragement to go forward and set up a company.”
Creating a quintessentially English spirit came to mind, especially one that’s part of the classic Highclere Way cocktail (one part gin, two parts tonic, orange peel and a rosemary sprig).
“We knew that the film would be set in the 1920s and the cocktail era and that’s such a strong part of Highclere history,” says Lady Carnavon. “It’s about entertaining, royalty coming for great evenings, it’s about playing the piano, about croquet and fun, racing and shooting.”
The gin uses botanicals like lavender, oranges and lime flowers grown on the vast, roughly 5,000-acre Highclere estate.
“We started by reviewing traditional gin, the sort my parents drank,” says Lady Carnarvon.”We’ve got juniper, and we have the Victorian orangery, which was moved to where it is now in the 18th century — we still have a peach house, and a vinery — so we’re using them to contribute to what we are trying to do. It’s all around the idea of entertaining, from field to table, garden to the glass.”
Co-founder and CEO of Highcastle Spirits, Adam von Gootkin, explains that they created over 20 recipe iterations until the ratio of botanicals was perfected.
“The addition of oats, famously grown on the Highclere estate for their thoroughbred race horses, added the oils to extend the finish of the gin, which is velvety smooth,” he says. “It’s the first gin you can drink straight on the rocks with a twist. So, very much like Highclere itself, the gin has the heritage and pedigree of another time while fitting perfectly into the beautiful modernity of today.”
The gin uses botanicals like lavender, oranges and lime flowers grown on the vast, roughly 5,000-acre Highclere estate.
This mix of past and present is something that the Carnarvons are very conscious of, just as they are aware of the blending of Downton and their real life, since Highclere Castle is also their home for parts of the year.
“Julian [Fellowes] writes the script, and it’s fictional, but some of the story lines resonate about what really happens. When Hugh Bonneville has drinks in the evening in the drawing room, well, that’s where we’ll have drinks,” says Lady Carnarvon. “[In ‘Downton’] they’ll have afternoon tea in the library, and then finish filming on Thursday and I’ve got friends arriving to join me on Friday — and again we’re having afternoon tea in the library.”
Lady Carnarvon has written historical biographies of some of the real-life aristocratic inhabitants of Highclere that some of the “Downton” characters are based on, as well as books about entertaining in HIghclere style, and sees the house as her “anchor in a brittle, changing world.”
“Almost every book I write, the subtitle in my mind is ‘a sense of place’ because that’s what Highclere Castle gives me — a sense of order, place and time,” she says. “I’ve started a book called ‘A Walk in Time At Highclere,’ which starts at 1000 BC, where we have the remains of settlers, through to today.”
The Carnarvons are also aware of their stewardship for this historic property, continually undertaking castle restorations and environmental efforts and keeping visitor numbers limited so that they don’t “harm what we are trying to preserve.”
“We don’t need to inhabit every room, so as I think of a theme I can create life in a room,” she says. “For example, I’m beginning to recreate some maids’ rooms for small tours on the top floor. I’m also going to curate a homage to Sir Charles Barry,” the architect who remodeled the castle in 1842, as well as, famously, the Houses of Parliament in the mid-19th century.
Also coming down the line — Highclere bubbly.
“We’ve planted a vineyard this year for champagne,” says Lady Carnarvon, adding emphatically, “Because I like champagne!”
And should there ever be another “Downton Abbey” movie, both Earl and Lady Carnarvon are both up for a cameo.
“We’ve never been asked!” she says. “George and I both thought it might be quite fun to be gardeners. Or I could be in the kitchen because I love Lesley Nicol [who plays head housekeeper Mrs. Patmore] and it would be an ‘Upstairs Downstairs’ swapover. But on the other hand, her clothes are quite boring. Mary and Edith get all the great dresses.”
The writer was a guest of VisitBritain.com.