Downton Abbey Oxfordshire & Cotswold Filming Locations
Downton Abbey is a British period drama television series set in the early 20th century and filmed in Britain and created and principally written by Julian Fellowes. It's suggested that he had the idea for Downton Abbey while staying with connections in Bampton village. The premiere of the series was initially shown on ITV in September 2010. The series is set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey in the years between 1912 and 1926. It depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian Britain. The ultimate events of the era in history and the effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy in general.
Fictional Downton Abbey Oxfordshire & Cotswold Filming Locations Overview
Highclere Castle, in Hampshire, was the setting for the majority of exterior filming of Downton Abbey as well as for a proportion of the interior shots. The Oxfordshire Cotswolds features heavily in the everyday exterior scenes, prominently featured in the village of Bampton, which professes to be the village of Downton. Most used locations are St. Mary's Church and the village library, which is used as the entrance to the cottage hospital.
Downton Abbey Oxfordshire Places to Visit
Ditchley Park, Enstone, Oxfordshire
- Mallerton Hall.
- Website (opening times): www.ditchley.co.uk
Cogges Manor Farm, Witney, Oxfordshire
- Downton Abbey's Yew Tree Farm.
- Website (opening times): www.cogges.org.uk
The Swan Inn, Swinbrook, Oxfordshire
- English Inn
Lady Sybil and Branson stayed while planning their elopement to Gretna Green. - Website (opening times): www.theswanswinbrook.co.uk
The Old Forge, Shilton, Oxfordshire
- The Red Lion public house, Kirkbymoorside.
- Website (opening times): www.shilton.info/Home/Shilton.html
Bampton Village, Bampton, Oxfordshire
- The village hospital
Mrs Crawley's House - The Bampton Community Archive housed in the library building has a permanent Downton Abbey exhibition and a collection of memorabilia including cards, mugs, books, pictures and a location tour map.
Website: https://www.bamptonarchive.org
Leaflet Download:
Visit Downton Abbey Leaflet Map PDF (download)
St. Mary's Church and Vicarage, Bampton, Oxfordshire
- St. Michael and All Angels Church
- Website (opening times): www.bamptonchurch.org.uk
Churchgate House (Church View), Bampton, Oxfordshire
- Isobel Crawley's house (exterior)
Church View, Bampton, Oxfordshire
- Church View appears regularly throughout the series
Bampton Library, Old Grammar School, Bampton, Oxfordshire
- Downton Cottage Hospital
Book your Oxfordshire Downton Abbey Tour
A tour visiting the Downton Abbey famous locations in the ITV series and admire the architecture of Bampton village and other highlights. The tour does not include visiting Highclere Castle as the location is in deepest Hampshire. Book a Downton Abbey Tour