Location, Location, Location - Highclere Castle

Downton Abbey is a lavish new seven part ITV1 drama, written and created by Julian Fellowes, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of the film, Gosford Park, and filmed at Highclere Castle in North Hampshire.

Set in 1912, Downton Abbey portrays the lives of the Crawley family and the servants who work for them. The £7 million production features an all-star cast, including Dame Maggie Smith, who plays Violet, the dowager countess of Grantham and Hugh Bonneville as Robert, Earl of Grantham.

The great house 'playing' Downton Abbey is a statement in itself. Set in 6,000 acres of verdant Hampshire countryside and boasting a park by Capability Brown, Highclere Castle is in the high-Elizabethan style, and was redesigned in the 19th century by Sir Charles Barry, the architect who rebuilt the Houses of Parliament.

Highclere Castle is the home to the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and the home of their ancestors, the Herbert family since the early 18th century. The Castle has been used only rarely on television or in cinema: for Jeeves and Wooster, and for Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut.

Film Hampshire are a completely free location finding service based in the UK. With over 350 film locations across Hampshire to choose from, including over 40 historic country houses  and 25 parks and forests, Film Hampshire are sure to be able to help you find what you're looking for.

For more information call the Film Hampshire team on 01962 845745 or email info@filmhampshire.org.uk