Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey (11 page)

With some of the Ealing sets in constant flux, careful planning is required to ensure they are ready for filming when it is scheduled. Everything has to be arranged so that the props can be unpacked and placed on a set that has been painted and decorated, ready for action. Meanwhile set-building has to be timed so that it takes place when shooting is at Highclere, explains art director Charmian Adams, ‘because painters and, in particular, carpenters make a lot of noise.’

For practicality’s sake, scenes from more than one episode will be filmed while each different set is standing, in order to minimise the number of room changes required. Nonetheless, Mark Kebby, the supervising art director, notes that the walls are repainted so often they are getting ‘thicker and thicker’.

Much of the set is reused, so a lone wall panel that formed part of Mary’s bedroom – painted its signature green – might reappear in another set, such as Cora’s rather larger bedroom, and perhaps painted blue.

Every series sees new locations added to those familiar to the audience, as storylines take the family and their servants out of Downton Abbey. The search for these properties is led by Mark ‘Sparky’ Ellis, the location manager, in conjunction with production designer Donal Woods.

They draw on industry guides and recommendations from agencies who specialise in finding locations. For convenience, the team prefer settings not far from the existing ones, and ideally as close as possible to London to avoid overnight stays for cast and crew. But that is just the start of their considerations – the building must also work in filming terms.

‘With a show this big not only must the location look ideal, but we must be able to support it,’ says Ellis. ‘You may find a fantastic restaurant in some back alley, but to service it you’ve got to park about 20 trucks nearby. The last thing you want to do is change your plans because you’ve found a great place to film but you can’t get any of the equipment to it.’

Lincoln Castle made a forbidding York Prison, where Bates served time for the murder of his wife. For hundreds of years the fortress was used as the city’s jail, with prisoners executed on its ramparts. Lincoln itself was a lovely place to film, according to Joanne Froggatt. ‘Being in the castle added weight to those scenes, rather than being on sets. It was really beautiful up there, too.’

As usual, filming did not run in story sequence, but was planned to make the most of the location in as little time as possible, notes Chris Croucher. ‘Lincoln, for Bates, was used for six different episodes, so over two days we had four different directors shooting their prison scenes there,’ he says.

Those scenes, of course, told one of
Downton
’s darker storylines, as Bates and Anna fought against a miscarriage of justice and the threat of the hangman. For the actors such highly charged scenes can be draining, says Froggatt. ‘If you have a few days in a row of emotional scenes you can’t help but take it home.’

The show relocated lock, stock and barrel to west Scotland for the final episode of series three, when the Crawley family visited warring relatives at Duneagle Castle.

Inveraray Castle, the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll, was the perfect location, boasting an extravagant state dining room and a vast armoury hall.

For the crew, shooting in the surrounding Highland landscape proved the biggest hurdle, which they solved by using 4x4s to carry the necessary equipment to the locations from bases lower down. ‘We were really high up in the glens, with hardly any road,’ says ‘Sparky’ Ellis. ‘It was a real logistical challenge.’

Yet both cast and crew speak fondly of time spent shooting on locations further afield, which offers everyone a chance to socialise outside of work. ‘The week up in Scotland was great,’ says Charles Edwards (Gregson). ‘The scenery was gorgeous, and we were all staying in the same hotel, so after shooting we would congregate in the hotel bar.’