Downton Abbey (2010 & 2013)

Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates, Baby George and Di Botcher as Nanny West

Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates, Baby George and Di Botcher as Nanny West © ITV

Creator: Julian Fellowes
Starring: Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Brendan Coyle, Elizabeth McGovern
Production Company:
ITV Studios, Carnival Films, Masterpiece, NBC Universal, WGBH Boston
Kent Locations Used:
Kent & East Sussex Railway, The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Downton Abbey (2010-2015) was an ITV period drama charting the lives of the Crawley family and their servants in early 20th Century Britain.

Created by Julian Fellowes (Belgravia (2020), Vanity Fair (2005)), the series hosts a star of acting talent including Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van (2015), A Room With a View (1986)) as Violet Crawley, Hugh Bonneville (The Gold (2023), The Monuments Men (2014)) as Robert Crawley, Michelle Dockery (The Gentlemen, Good Behaviour) as Lady Mary Crawley, Brendan Coyle (Me Before You, Lark Rise to Candleford) as John Bates and Elizabeth McGovern (Ordinary People, Once Upon a Time in America) as Cora Crawley.

The opening shot of Series 1 Episode 1 is a steam train going through the countryside and was filmed at Kent & East Sussex Railway.

In February 2013, the Downton Abbey team visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham where they used the Tarred Yarn Store to double as the workhouse where Mr Grigg (Nicky Henson) works in Series 4 Episode 1. Later, in Episode 2, the Ropery streets were used for the scenes where Lady Rose MacClare (Lily James) is at the market with James Kent (Ed Speleers) watching her.

Downton Abbey Screenshot - train going through the countryside

Downton Abbey Screenshot © ITV Studios, Carnival Films, Masterpiece, NBC Universal, WGBH Boston

Kent & East Sussex Railway is a ten-and-a-half-mile rural light railway from Tenterden to East Sussex. Kent & East Sussex Railway has previously featured in film and TV productions including Richard E. Grant on Ealing Comedies (2016), Mapp and Lucia (2014) and Last Passenger (2013).

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular film location due to its varied and interesting areas such as the cobbled streets, church and over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian periods. Previous productions that have shot here include Les Misérables (2013), Call the Midwife (2012-2024), and The Golden Compass (2007).

Series 1 of Downton Abbey originally aired on ITV from Sunday 26th September.

Series 4 of Downton Abbey aired on ITV from Sunday 22nd September 2013 and is now available to stream on Amazon Prime.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.


Murder on the Home Front (2013)

 

Murder on the Home Front characters standing on a London Street facing the camera

Murder on the Home Front © ITV

Starring: Patrick Kennedy, Tamzin Merchant, James Fleet, Emerald Fennell

Production company: Carnival Films

Kent Locations:  The Historic Dockyard

Murder on the Home Front is a new two part ITV drama set  in London during the Blitz and is loosely based on the memoirs of Molly Lefebure, a secretary to Home Office Pathologist Keith Simpson. It documents the different crimes committed in London at the time by individuals who used the distractions and devastation of the war to conceal their actionsr.

Murder on the Home Front features many familiar faces, including Patrick Kennedy (Boardwalk Empire, Parade’s End) and Tamzin Merchant (Jane Eyre, The Tudors) as well as James Fleet (Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Vicar of Dibley) and Emerald Fennell (Any Human Heart, Anna Karenina).

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham was used to re-create the London streets of World War II. Thanks to its authentic and historic exterior, the The Historic Dockyard in Chatham has often used as a location for productions such as Call the Midwife (2012-2013), Les Misérables (2012) and Sherlock Holmes (2009).

Don’t miss the first episode of Murder on the Home Front which airs on Thursday 9th May 2013 on ITV1 at 21:00.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map