As you travel down its sweeping driveway, Highclere Castle rises dramatically on the horizon, its distinctive golden turrets etched against the sky. Now the historic landmark, which found global fame as the setting for Downton Abbey, has taken its final close-up as the beloved costume drama bows out on the big screen. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is tipped to be the last outing for Lord and Lady Grantham – played by Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern – their family and servants whose upstairs-downstairs storylines have captivated fans for six hit ITV series and two films.
Meanwhile, life on the 5,000-acre estate in Hampshire continues as normal, with owners Lord and Lady Carnarvon – George 'Geordie' Herbert and his wife Fiona – are found busily tending their wildflower meadow when the HELLO! team arrives for our exclusive photoshoot. "We both love gardening and being outside," enthuses Lady Carnarvon, trimming the buddleia while her Arab pony Phoebe follows at her heels, along with a small pack of labradors. "You can go for great, long walks here, which are utterly magical, and come back exhausted."
© Peter FludeEven the short walk back to the castle across sweeping parkland designed by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown has a filmic quality. Once inside, the grand saloon, with its huge fireplace, Gothic arches and vaulted ceilings, feels instantly familiar, as does the oak staircase (built from the timber of a wrecked ship, Lord Carnarvon tells us) which both Lady Mary [Michelle Dockery] and Lady Edith [Laura Carmichael] swept down as brides.
Tantalising clips posted on social media have hinted at the plot line for the new film, written as always by the show’s creator Julian Fellowes, as the Crawley family and their staff enter the 1930s. There are hints of a divorce scandal for Lady Mary, as well as the introduction of new cast members including Joely Richardson and Simon Russell Beale. Filming took place at Highclere over two months last summer, although Lady Carnarvon believes this may be more au revoir than adieu for the cast and crew whom they’ve welcomed into their home since the first series in 2010.
© Peter Flude"It's certainly farewell to the current incarnation, but they leave it open at the end, as things can change," she says, careful not to give too much away. "I think everyone hopes Julian will write a prequel, but we’re not party to that. But if you have a successful film [franchise], you don’t necessarily close it off." "And you can never say never," adds her husband.
© Peter FludeWith big names such as Lily James, Rose Leslie, Theo James, Richard E Grant and Dominic West making guest appearances over the years, have they ever been starstruck? "Some people you get on really well with, and others are more distant," says Lord Carnarvon, discreetly. "The person who had the most aura around her was Dame Maggie Smith," he says of the late actress, who stole every scene as the dowager Duchess. "And I had a warmness towards Jim Carter – or rather his character, Carson – because he was like my grandfather’s butler, a wonderful guy called Robert Taylor. He was also very tall, very much the gentleman’s gentleman, and a stickler for everything being correctly placed on the table."
The person who had the most aura around her was Dame Maggie Smith. And I had a warmness towards Jim Carter – or rather his character, Carson – because he was like my grandfather's butler.
© Peter FludeAlthough the films took less time to shoot than the TV series (which averaged around six months) there was still significant upheaval, as lighting and camera equipment took over various rooms (there are "around 275" Lord Carnarvon estimates) and departments, from art to props, make up to costume, bedded down. "They were very long days," he says. "I’d get up early in the mornings, as that was my time, and you were helping them sort themselves out until late in the evening," he says, referring to his wife.
© Peter Flude"I had to take the time to make sure everything was unplugged," Lady Carnarvon explains. "After they’d gone, I’d slowly walk around, double checking. I said, 'You’ll have to pretend I’m a fireman'. You can’t lose concentration in a historic building as you can destroy something extraordinary." The Charles I portrait by Van Dyck was almost speared by a scaffolding pole, she remembers with a shudder.
© Peter FludeJulian, who is a friend of the couple and had stayed at the castle, had Highclere in mind when he wrote the script. Once the location was agreed, the Carnarvons decided they couldn’t be precious about their antique furniture, artefacts and paintings "There are now some stately homes who are just a film set, they’ve stripped out so much of the furniture,” says Lady Carnarvon. “Also everything we have is in character, so you hardly need any props,” adds her husband.
© Peter FludeHighclere has been in the Carnarvon family since 1679. But it was transformed into its current incarnation when the third Earl decided he wanted an Italianate Gothic mansion and commissioned Sir Charles Barry, who also designed the Houses of Parliament, to build one. "He got what it says on the tin," says Lord Carnarvon. He and his wife, however, live in a house next door. "Most of the bedrooms in the castle now fully operate, and the bathrooms. And we have proper house parties here a few times a year. But where we live, we can have the dogs and make a mess, so we have the best of both worlds," he reasons.
© Peter FludeThey have played host to two particularly esteemed guests – the late Queen and Prince Philip – who came for the weekend a couple of times. Lord Carnarvon’s father, 'Porchey' Porchester, the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, was the Queen’s racing manager and Lord Carnarvon was one of her godchildren. "She had a je ne sais quoi about her that was extraordinary and unique," says Lady Carnarvon.
© Peter Flude"She was always an attentive godmother, asking where I was, what I was doing," remembers her husband. "It was a fantastic honour. I remember the first time I was a page of honour was the first time the opening of the House of Commons was shown on colour TV. You can find the clip on YouTube, and see me flinching because no one had told me that all the trumpets were going to go off right next to me," he smiles.
© Peter FludeLord and Lady Carnarvon met in 1996 at a dinner party. The Earl had gone in place of his father while the Countess "didn’t have a clue what I was doing there," she says now. "It wasn’t long after my father died and you end up doing random things." She was the eldest of six daughters, educated at St Andrews and a trained accountant. He was Eton and Oxford-educated, and set to inherit the estate – a future he had tried to put out of his mind while growing up: "The responsibility was massive, and it’s kind of frightening because the buck stops here."
© Peter FludeThey married in 1999, had a son, Edward (the Earl also has two children with his first wife) and took on Highclere two years later, following the death of Lord Carnarvon’s father. They started on key repairs with the saloon roof where, “water would appear in one corner and come out of the other,” says Lord Carnarvon. “We wouldn’t have got Downton if we hadn’t mended the roof beforehand.”
Living and working together must have its challenges but it works, says Lady Carnarvon, because of their mutual respect for one another. "I try to step away and respect his views and his home, and his parents, who I knew well and liked immensely," she says. "It’s about respecting the heritage, and reflecting on what this house means to people. We are just stewards in our lifetime. It goes on. Coming to a house like his, you can look backwards, and dream of looking forwards."
© Peter FludeShe is invested in the estate’s history, having written several books about it and its predecessors, including one about Lady Almina, the wife of the fifth earl of Carnarvon, who along with Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb. On a more contemporary note, she is also in charge of the Highclere Instagram account, which has 708,000 followers.
The weight of history carries with it the memories of people who have been connected to Highclere, such as Lord Carnarvon’s mother Jeannie, a rancher’s daughter from Wyoming. They have planted a garden for her, just as Lady Carnarvon has planted trees "to people who were here but have sadly died, and trees for people who are still here and haven’t died. But I like that," she says, "because we’re walking together with ghosts and real people."
© Peter FludeShe’s had her own ghostly encounters – "Fiona tends to see more spirits from the past than me," says Lord Carnarvon – and as a result she hangs portraits in groups of families, "so they can be together. You’re trying your best to make people happy, I suppose, in the past as well as today." The phantoms of Downton will no doubt haunt the castle for some time and the Carnarvons, in turn, will keep the spirit of the global phenomenon alive. "
Geordie and I love to bring people together. It’s what this house does, and the joy of life.
"We’ve got some fantastic ideas going forward which will amuse the Downton die-hard fans," teases Lady Carnarvon. Before then, they have a weekend event coming up celebrating 80 years since the end of the Second World War. "Geordie and I love to bring people together. It’s what this house does, and the joy of life." They have a lot to be grateful to Downton Abbey for. "No one knew it was going to grow into such a success when we started with it," says Lord Carnarvon.
© Peter Flude"And it’s been electric in terms of visitors." Indeed, they now welcome 120,000 people a year, a fifth of them from North America. It has always been "very emotional" whenever a series or movie wraps, admits Lady Carnarvon, "but there isn’t a huge amount of time to stop, which is good," she smiles. And as Jim Carter – sorry, Carson – said, 'It is important to travel in hope.'"
A Year at Highclere by the Countess of Carnarvon was published by Penguin on 4 September
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
