Day 18—Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle

First Stop—Cogges Manor

This is Cogges Manor, a manor and surrounding farm dating back to at least 1098. We toured it as part of our social program day excursion to tour sites associated with Downton Abbey; this farm was known as Yew Tree Farm on the show.

Archaeologists who dug under the manor found Anglo-Saxon pottery dating back to 450 AD, suggesting that people have lived at Cogges since long before it was first recorded in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book (England's first census). Some Neolithic pieces have even been discovered here!

I have to say, I didn't fully appreciate it while I was there. I was running on five hours of sleep after a busy weekend in Edinburgh, I'd (foolishly) worn a summer dress in 60 degree weather, and I desperately wanted to be back on the bus—or, better yet, asleep. But even though castles are more up my alley than manor houses and farms, I did greatly enjoy walking around once I realized that many of these rooms would've been similar to ones that existed on my great-grandmother's farm a hundred years ago. I've never got to go inside her farm, so getting to walk through some of these rooms made me feel like I understood more about what her childhood was like!

This was filmed for Downton Abbey as the set for Yew Tree Farm.

This is Manasser de Arsic, the Lord of the Manor from the 12th century.

This is Lady de Grey, a widowed noblewoman who lived here in the 13th century.

This is Sir Thomas and his wife Lucy Pope, the 2nd Earl and Countess of Downe. They were landed gentry who lived at Cogges Farm in the early 17th century.

This is the Blake Family—William, Sarah, and Francis. William was a retired merchant who lived here in the late 17th century and early 18th century.

This is Mr. J. Morland, a schoolmaster who owned this property in the 18th century.

These are Joseph and Elizabeth Mawle, a farming family who lived here in in the 19th and 20th centuries. They were responsible for much of the preservation work that was undertaken on this historic farm.

On the back wall is the laundry space.

Second Stop—Bampton Village (and a CASTLE!)

Bampton Village was a quick stop to see a Downton Abbey church and grab lunch, but when I saw a castle on the map, possibly built by Empress Matilda in 1142, during the Anarchy... well, lunch isn't that important anyway, right?

Our visit to the castle ended up being rather interesting, though, because Google Maps lied to us. What was supposed to be a ruin turned out to be someone's house! (And what I wouldn't give to live in a castle.) The owner was totally chill when five young women wandered up to the road to his house, though, and didn't even bother to ask what we were doing. So maybe they get a lot of tourists? Since it was private property, I didn't have the courage to venture any closer for pictures, but thankfully, two of the girls with me had the courage I lacked, and wandered closer to get this image.

This is a church that was the site of fictitious gravestones for the characters in Downton Abbey. It's the location of one of the first scenes in the first episode, where the heir dies and the will is read. This is also where Lady Edith gets left at the altar, as well as the location of Lady Mary’s second wedding.

Take a closer look at the right side of this clock. Notice that 4 o'clock is represented by "IIII"? Really old clocks had “IIII” instead of “IV,” so that’s how you can timestamp it and figure out when it was made!

This is a thatched roof cottage, made of twigs and branches. These are banned in London due to the fire hazard they pose. To live in one now is very expensive, because if water starts leaking through, you have to replace part of the roof. You have to replace the whole roof every few decades anyway, so it gets to be very expensive!

Third Stop—Highclere Castle

Unfortunately, no photography was permitted in the castle, since nobles currently live there. (In fact, I'm about 99% sure that I saw the Countess of Carnarvon herself while I was on the tour!)

Beyond its importance as a noble household and the site of all scenes filmed for the Downton Abbey castle, it was also the home of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who helped discover King Tut's tomb. Many of the relics from this expedition, along with several other relics recovered from other expeditions, are featured in a museum below the castle. (Unfortunately, no photography was permitted there either.)

Though I've never seen Downton Abbey, I loved exploring the castle! (I developed a slight addiction to touring castles while I was in the UK.) I memorized any details I could use for my settings and jotted them down in my notes afterwards. I spent half the tour daydreaming some scenes for one of my side books, which inspired a brief return to it lasting only a few hundred words before I shelved it again. I'll get back to that book... someday.

This stump has all sorts of carvings in it, including one of the Green Man, who was thought to be responsible for harvest time.

The view from the hill where Highclere Castle sits.

This is the entrance to Highclere Castle.

These brick foundations are the ruins of the Parish Church, built by Sir Robert Sawyer, who was gifted the estate by Charles II in 1679. Sawyer found an original Anglo-Saxon church from 1000 AD standing here, in poor condition, so he rebuilt and enlarged it with red brick. Sawyer was buried at the church in 1692. The church fell into disrepair by the 1800s, and the 4th Earl of Carnarvon built a new church in the village. Everything from this church was moved there, but the red brick foundations from the earlier church still stand.

This building, called Jackdaws Castle, was built from columns salvaged from Berkeley House in London, which burned down in 1733. Robert Herbert, whose nephew Henry became the 1st Earl of Carnarvon in 1793, had this built. It's not really a viewpoint, just something to be admired in the distance from Highclere Castle.

These archways lead into a garden that was once used by monks.

The flowers below are from the so-called "Secret Garden" at Highclere Castle. I'm not even a flowers type of girl, but they were so beautiful! My camera didn't do them justice.

These trees are planted in the Wood of Goodwill, where the only trees planted are the 38 species that are recognized as native to Britain.

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