Our cottage was in Black Bourton and the nearest town with a grocery store was Bampton and we have gone there on numerous occasions to shop or eat (The Romany and The Tea Shop), but never to explore its connections with the tv series Downton Abbey.
This time, though we'd done a 5-6 mile walk in the rain, we decided we should look at some of the locations. I started as a big fan of Downton Abbey, but finally gave it up last year, too much drama, same old, same old. But I still like the look of it, so off we went to explore.
The church of St. Mary's is where Mary and Mathew got married and where Edith got jilted at the altar. Lovely church dating from the 13th century though there was probably one there even earlier than that. In the church graveyard there was actually a tombstone with the name Crowley on it.
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| A scene from Downton Abbey filmed at the church |
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| St. Mary's Bampton |
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Interior of St. Mary's
Next to St. Mary's is Churchgate the exterior of which is used as Isobel Crowley's house, the interiors are filmed at Ealing Studio in London.
Another village near where we were staying was Shilton which had a lovely little ford and a blacksmith's shop that was turned into the Red Lion pub where Mr. Bates worked after leaving Downton Abbey.
We ate at the Rose and Crown in Shilton, a wonderful little village pub. Mac had a homemade pie and I had a ham sandwich, we finished up with a tart and wonderful summer pudding.
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The ford at Shilton, the Red Lion would be on the right
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| The Rose and Crown, always makes me think of Andy Capp |
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| I always sit in a corner, waiting for food |
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And it was well worth waiting for.
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Another day was spent at one of our favorite places, Cogge's Manor farm. The kitchen and dairy date from the 13th century and the kitchen was used in Downton Abbey as Yew Tree Farm where Mr. and Mrs. Drewe lived, they're the ones who were raising Marigold, Edith's daughter. They have photos scattered about the main living room showing where scenes were shot.
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| The kitchen at Cogge's |
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The dairy room at Cogge's
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| Old Spot |
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| Kitchen garden at Cogge's |
While we were wandering around the church yard at Bampton, having had the church all to ourselves, a tour bus pulled up and disgorged a load of Downton fans.
The ford at Shilton, the Red Lion would be on the right
What a great post, I love Downton Abbey!x
ReplyDeleteLovely tour and beautiful pics. Thank you.
ReplyDeletexx
That pub food looks divine. So glad you enjoyed the UK. I must say that ford looks rather scary; maybe there was a lot of water in the river at the time. I certainly wouldn't fancy driving through it.
ReplyDeleteYes, that food does look good! I've never been to Black Bourton but it looks a very picturesque spot to spend a holiday.
ReplyDeleteI recently read Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Lady Fiona Carnarvon (listened to it in Swedish translation). Have you read it?
ReplyDeleteGrand houses are fine to tour, but I would feel more at home in that wonderful kitchen garden. I agree, Downton became too full of contrived drama!
ReplyDeleteI have never watched Downton Abbey...waiting for a blizzard so I can watch for several days:) That Summer pudding looks grand! :)
ReplyDeleteI think I'd enjoy looking round that area especially Cogges Manor farm, the garden there looks beautiful. I watched Downton until the start of series four but gave up then. Maybe one day I'll get the DVDs and watch the last two series as well.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had known that you were coming, I could have shown you round at work and shown you more Downton Abbey places as Basildon Park was used as the inside of the London House for the family! Perhaps another time! xx
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise that you were coming over when you did - you have almost been on my doorstep.
ReplyDeleteDessert to die for. I expected you scooted off when the squealing tourist arrived.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful post today.
ReplyDeleteThe photos are lovely and the food looks lovely.
I watched DA the first season caught some of the second season and then dropped it. It got to soppy soapy for me.
But the views and the clothes are fabulous !
cheers, parsnip
You lasted longer with Downton Abbey than I did...I think I stopped after the third season...you know when the character was killed in the car wreck just after his wife had the baby? That was it for me! I can't understand why Americans are so crazy about this show, there are so many others that are better.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos, your food photos make me homesick for England! x
This area is new to me, and thanks for the tour. St. Mary's church interior is perfection, and the pub and food, and all the locations are fabulous. I look forward to the next and final season of Downton Abbey, and hope Dr. Thorne will be filmed soon, another of Julian Fellow's projects.
ReplyDeleteLooks a lovely area to visit and your food looks very tasty. I recognise the house from the TV series, glad you had a super time finding all these locations:)
ReplyDeleteYou are making me very "homesick" for England. I have stuck with Downton Abbey, mostly because of just the Britishness of it all, the scenery, the buildings, etc. I agree about the plot -- too soap opera-ish. It's fun to see your photos of these places from the series.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to see you had such a good time in my favourite country. Same as Cynthia above, I always get "homesick" when seeing anything about Good Old England. The main reason why 'm still watching Downton Abbey and am looking forward to it starting later this month, can't just not watch something SO British but I do get what you mean.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it is also lovely to see a picture of YOU. Nice being able to put a face to your name, our conversations will be even more special. :)
Have a good day,
Marianne from
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