A period drama series about a family of British aristocrats shows no sign of losing American fans as it heads towards its fourth season.
The very first installment of Downton Abbey, chronicling the behavior and misbehavior of the Crawley family and their servants, was broadcast in the UK in late September of 2010. The series jumped the pond as a PBS Masterpiece offering and, says Peter Straus, has been going great guns ever since.
"It fascinates Americans because we really don't have the sort of class hierarchy that Britain has. But it also fascinates the British. I think everybody is fascinated by wealth and influence and power and that's why there's still a monarchy there."
Straus owns and operates The Grand Tour Travel Company based in New Hampshire. He’s partnering with a number of public TV stations in the country - including WFSU-TV - to take the most dedicated show fans to the parts of England where Downton Abbey is filmed.
"We take groups to not only the locations where the series is filmed, but also some of the places that mark the life of the aristocracy in England and how it's persisted over the centuries."
The man who actually conducts the tours is Alasdair Clayre.
"We're really trying to interpret for people and help people understand: a) the context that Downton Abbey exists in and: b) what's left of that world today."
Clayre, whose background includes archeology and history, says even though the British aristocracy that existed in the Downton Abbey period just before World War One has vanished, some vestiges of that world remain in Britain’s present day ruling class.
"Half of them went to Eaton and Oxford so there is still that track that people from that background rule the country in the background. England likes to think it's more democratic than that, but still the aristocracy and the old world has a disproportionate weight in British politics and British life."
Which is why Peter Straus says the experience he and Clarye are hosting is much more than simply a whirlwind visit to a bunch of different locations.
"We have people come in such as Alistair Bruce, the historical advisor of the series Downton Abbey, to discuss the manners and mores of the aristocracy. We tour Eaton College, Oxford, the House of Lords in Parliament, that building designed by the same person who designed Highclere Castle, and Blenheim Palace. The gardens there were designed by Capability Brown who also designed the gardens of Highclere Castle."
Of course, the crown jewel of any Downton Abbey excursion is a tour of Highclere Castle which is the Crowley family mansion in the TV series. Just getting in is a challenge as it’s only open for tours a few months out of the year. During those months, visitation to the castle runs about a thousand people a day. Show fans also frequent the village that is portrayed as being near the castle, but Alasdair Clayre says it’s not.
"Forty miles from Highclere is the little village of Bampton to the west of Oxford, which is a sleepy little village and a lot of people who retired there or moved out of London and wanted to live there because it is a sleepy little village. They're not terribly excited about it becoming a place of interest to visit. Other people on the other hand are very glad that it's attracting interest."
One of those happy people is Lady Carnavon, the current real-life occupant of Highclere Castle. The proceeds from the TV show and tour revenues are certainly helping with the upkeep of the huge building, where a simple roof replacement can cost around five million dollars. Alasdair Clayre says she has a philosophical take on the present fuss involving her house.
"She realizes completely. She sees Downton Abbey as a blip and she realizes they're going to have to find other ways of maintaining the estate. But as she said to me not long ago, 'Downton Abbey's been here for two years; we've been here for a thousand. We will go on.'"
In the meantime, millions of people will pay regular visits to the magnificent old castle and the other scenes of Edwardian England when Downton Abbey starts its fourth season this fall.
