‘Downton Abbey’: You’ll Never Believe How Much The Crawley Family’s Sprawling Estate Would be Worth
Downton Abbey follows the lives of the Crawley family and their friends in the early 20th century. The series, set in a fictional Yorkshire country house, brings enough drama to keep fans interested. Still, the setting helps a little bit, too. The massive estate sits on acres of gorgeous property and is too big to fathom. Can you guess how much the fictional abbey would cost if it were real, though? The numbers have been crunched.
Where is ‘Downton Abbey’ filmed?
While the period drama is fictional, the estate that serves as the home of the Crawleys is a real castle. Shots of the abbey are filmed at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, England. When Downton Abbey is not being filmed on the property, it’s a working estate and serves as the home base for Lady Carnarvon and the Earl of Carnarvon.
The sprawling estate, which includes 1,000 acres of parkland, has belonged to the same family for more than three centuries, and it doesn’t look like it will be changing hands anytime soon. The popularity of Downton Abbey has allowed fans a peek into the castle, but there are still off-limits rooms. Lady Carnarvon told Town & Country that the crew was banned from several rooms in the home. She didn’t share which rooms were verboten.
How much would the estate actually cost?
While Highclere Castle hasn’t been available for sale ever, anyone who did sell the property would be poised to make a massive profit. In a detailed study, Money estimated the value of a variety of fictional properties, and the famed abbey is the most expensive of the group. According to the publication, if the Crawleys’ property were real, it would be worth more than $179 million. If someone were to mortgage the property, after the standard 10% down, they’d be shelling out more than $500,000 per month for 25 years.
While the price tag is awfully big, a lot would come along with the property. There are about 300 rooms inside the massive estate. Those 300 rooms cover 100,000 square feet of space, and that says nothing for the outside property. The castle sits on 1,000 acres.
While the average person won’t ever own such a property, Airbnb offered some Downton Abbey fans the chance to spend the night. In November 2019, Lady Carnarvon and the Earl opened their home to lucky Airbnb winners. The one-night event allowed a set number of guests to spend the night inside the castle and enjoy drinks and dinner with the homeowners.
‘Downton Abbey’ fans will have more drama to discuss soon
While the series might be over, film crews are already back at Highclere Castle to offer fans more from their favorite aristocrats sooner rather than later. A second feature film has been announced, and it already has a release date. Carnival Films plans to release the flick in-theaters-only on March 18, 2022.
Carnival Films originally planned a December 2021 release of Downton Abbey: A New Era. Production began in April 2021, but coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions slowed filming. While the storyline for the movie is being kept under wraps, it appears that fans will hear wedding bells.
