- Rating: 8.70
- Year of issue: 2010
- Genres: Drama
- Countries: United Kingdom
- Duration: 58 minutes
- Complexity: 9
A chronicle of the lives of the British polished Crawley family members as well as their slaves in the early 20th Century.
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April 1912:- The heir to the title of Earl of Grantham,long time inhabitants of Downton Abbey,perishes on the ‘Titanic’. Robert,the benevolent current earl,owes his wealth to his American wife Cora but they have only three daughters,who cannot inherit by law,so another heir must be found by marrying off Mary,the eldest girl. The Duke of Crowborough is a possibility but he is a closet gay who only has eyes for Thomas,the handsome but obnoxious footman,and soon departs. Robert's mother,the dowager,and Cora decide that the next best candidate is Matthew Crawley,a distant…
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September 1912. Designated heir Matthew Crawley and his mother Isobel arrive and move into a house in the grounds of Downton Abbey but Matthew is uncomfortable with having servants and is not keen on an arranged marriage - something he has in common with Lady Mary. Robert's mother Violet looks down on them as they are not from her class - Matthew is a working solicitor and Isobel,a trained nurse and doctor's widow,who nonetheless impresses when she helps at the local hospital and saves the life of one of Robert's tenants. Cora upbraids the two nastiest servants,…
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March 1913. Gwen, one of the maids, has bought a typewriter and has applied for a secretarial post. Most of the staff are dismissive of her aspirations but the family - except Violet of course - are supportive, and youngest daughter Sybil offers to supply a reference. Evelyn Napier, considered an eligible catch for Mary, arrives for the hunt, bringing his handsome friend Kemal Pamuk, a Turkish diplomat, who throws himself at her. He goes to her room at night for sex, during which he dies of a heart attack. Mary, Cora and head housemaid Anna return the body to his room…
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May 1913. A fair comes to the village and here Mrs. Hughes meets up with an old flame,Joe,who once asked her to marry him and does so again but once more she refuses. Despite being gay Thomas escorts Daisy to the fair purely out of spite as he knows William is fond of her. The gesture is not lost on either John Bates or Mrs. Hughes. Gwen is not called for interview for the secretarial post but Sybil agrees to support future applications. A new chauffeur, Tom Branson, arrives. He is well-read and politically aware. Having got one over on Isobel regarding a medical …
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August 1913. O'Brien and Thomas continue to spread their malice,ensuring that Lady Edith learns from Daisy where Kemal died and attempting to frame John Bates for the theft of a snuff-box though Anna,clearly fond of John,ensures the plan backfires on them. Thomas's gossip also discredits Lady Mary's eligibility as a bride and the family must entertain the middle-aged Sir Anthony Strallen as a prospective husband. Mary is bored by him and it brings her closer to Matthew but Edith seems genuinely interested in him. Mrs. Patmore,the cook,must accept that her eye-sight is…
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May 1914. Encouraged by politically aware chauffeur Tom Branson, the socially conscious Lady Sybil espouses politics as a means of aiding equality for women and the lower classes, to her father's anger. At a political meeting she is injured in a scuffle and rescued by Matthew. A grateful Lady Mary accepts Matthew's proposal of marriage but tells her mother she feels she should come clean about Kemal to him. Rumours about this indiscretion are now rife and Cora tells her mother-in-law how she helped Mary move the body. Edith continues to see more and more of Sir …
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July 1914. In London former suitor Evelyn Napier assures Lady Mary that it was Edith, not he,who spread gossip about her and Kemal. Mary counters by wrecking her sister's marriage plans with Sir Anthony. Robert is reluctant to dismiss John even though O'Brien and Thomas have obtained a letter claiming that he stole from a previous employer. Anna accompanies Mrs. Patmore to London for eye tests,resulting in corrective surgery and whilst there,discovers that John took the blame for the theft for his ex-wife Vera, a fact which Robert is pleased to hear. Thomas, fed up at…
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November 1916. Matthew is fighting in the horrific battle of the Somme but at Downton Robert,given a courtesy title as head of the local yeomanry but deemed too old to fight,and William,forbidden by his father to enlist,feel frustrated as white feathers are given to non-combatants. Sybil also feels useless and goes to York for nursing training whilst Mary hides her disappointment when Matthew,home on leave,brings his betrothed,Lavinia Swire,to meet her. She nonetheless sees him off,giving him her lucky mascot,as he returns to the fighting, Back in the trenches he …
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April 1917. With John still absent, Isobel's butler Mosley makes a play for Anna but is rejected. Robert gets a new valet, shell-shocked ex-soldier Henry Lang, whilst William goes off to war. Edith learns to drive a tractor, extremely well, and nearly succumbs to a kiss from the married farmer Mr. Drake. Sybil and Thomas work in the cottage hospital, where the latter begins to learn some humanity. At Isobel's suggestion - and to Violet's dismay - Downton Abbey is turned into a convalescent ward to ease the hospital's bed shortage. Mary invites middle-aged newspaper …
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July 1917. As Isobel's plan to turn Downton into a hospital unites upstairs and downstairs in protest, O'Brien persuades Cora to make Thomas the hospital manager. Ethel enjoys the patients' attention whilst Edith earns respect as an auxiliary nurse. Chauffeur Branson, extolling the Russian Revolution, intends to be a conscientious objector but is rejected on medical grounds as former footman William, on his way to the trenches, proposes to Daisy. As Lang finds his trauma interferes with his work Anna discovers Bates working in a local pub. He tells her that Vera has …
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1918. Angry that Cora has reorganized hospital rotas to make life easier for the staff, Isobel leaves for nursing work in France just before news arrives that Matthew and William are missing. In Isobel's absence, her cook, Mrs. Bird, and butler, Molesley, run a soup kitchen for veterans, in which they are joined by Mrs. Patmore and Daisy, who bring left-overs from the abbey. O'Brien informs on them to Cora - who thinks it is a wonderful gesture and insists she and O'Brien also help out! Robert tracks John Bates down and returns him to Downton Abbey whilst Mrs. Hughes …
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August 1918: Deserted by the baby's father Ethel has been installed with her child in a cottage on the estate by a sympathetic Mrs. Hughes,who brings her food. Jane, a war widow,has taken Ethel's place as a maid. Vera Bates returns,having spent John's money but with no intention of sticking to their arrangement and planning to make money by selling the story of Lady Mary's indiscretion to Carlisle's newspaper. Tipped off by Anna,Mary goes to see him and explains all,thus scotching Vera's plan as the newspaper owner threatens her with libel action. Having returned to …
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November 1918. Believing her marriage to have been a sham Daisy is reluctant to accept a widow's pension whilst Robert writes to the father of Ethel's child,only to learn that he was killed in the war. As the Armistice is announced a Canadian soldier,suffering terrible burns,comes to recuperate and declares that he is Patrick,the heir presumed dead on the ‘Titanic’ and until recently an amnesiac. Only Edith believes him and he departs,leaving Edith a letter,his identity still unconfirmed. Carlisle plans to buy a house near Downton and poaches Carson as his butler. He …
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With the house no longer a hospital Thomas hopes to make money on the black market but is ruined after being cheated by his supplier. Mrs Hughes helps Ethel to confront Mr and Mrs Bryant,the parents of her baby's late father but,whilst his wife seems moved,Bryant dismisses Ethel as a liar and fraud with no proof of paternity. Carlisle tries to bribe Anna to spy on Mary but she refuses and tells Mrs Hughes and Carson,the latter consequently withdrawing his offer to work for Carlisle whom he sees as underhand. Robert,disillusioned by the war's failure to accomplish …
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April 1919. As Downton Abbey prepares for Lavinia and Matthew's wedding, Sybil and Tom shock the family by announcing their intention to move to Dublin, where he has work, and marry. However, events are overtaken and the marriage put on hold when Carson, Cora, Lavinia and others fall sick with the Spanish flu. Thomas uses the situation as an excuse to get his job back but Lavinia, aware of Matthew's feelings for Mary, suggests that the marriage be called off. After admitting their mutual feelings, Jane gives Robert her resignation her young son's future assured, …
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At Christmas 1919 the Crawleys welcome Edith's former suitor Sir Anthony,now a war invalid, who tells her that he is too old for her,and Robert's sister Rosamund with her beau,the raffish Lord Hepworth. Sybil writes to announce her pregnancy. After Carlisle's selfish attitude towards the servants and his jealousy when Mary accompanies Matthew to visit Lavinia's grave, Robert prises from his wife the fact that the newspaper baron is effectively blackmailing his daughter into marriage to keep her secret and,on her father's advice, Mary breaks off the engagement,knowing …
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Spring 1920:- Mary and Matthew's wedding is fast approaching. O'Brien fixes for her nephew Alfred,a former hotel waiter,to be the new footman though Carson finds him inefficient whilst Daisy is annoyed that,in view of the amount of cooking she does,she is still a kitchen maid and has not been promoted. Anna finds a list of all Vera's contacts and tells John she intends to write to them to discover if any of them found her suicidal. Robert meanwhile finds the future of Downton Abbey at risk due to money problems but Matthew annoys Mary by refusing a legacy left him by …
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Mary and Matthew return from their honeymoon but he is still reluctant to take the Swire inheritance so the family plans to impress Martha with a lavish dinner party,entertaining locals,in the hope that she will bank-roll them. When the oven breaks down Martha saves the day with her indoors picnic but is is unable to provide the financial help the family wants. A jealous Thomas sets out to sabotage Alfred and replace him with Molesley but O'Brien gets revenge by humiliating Thomas whilst Isobel,working at a charity in York to help single mothers spots Ethel,who runs …
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The feud continues between O'Brien and Thomas,who suggests that the ladies' maid intends leaving. Carson suspects that Mrs Hughes is unwell and tricks Mrs Patmore into confirming the cancer and,in a misguided effort to help,informs Cora. Anna visits a friend of Vera,Mrs Bartlett,though she offers no fresh evidence whilst John falls foul of cell-mate Craig. Mary finds a letter which persuades Matthew to take the inheritance and save the family home,in return for which Robert proposes they become joint owners of Downton Abbey. Edith prepares to marry Sir Anthony but he …
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August 1920. At Ethel's request Isobel and Mrs Hughes arrange a meeting with Mr and Mrs Bryant as Ethel believes her son Charlie would have a better life with them. The kindly Mrs Bryant offers money but Ethel, though it is heart-breaking for her, agrees that the couple should raise her son for his own benefit. Edith, incensed at the limits of women's suffrage, has an article published in the press, which annoys Robert but he is even more angry when Tom and the pregnant Sybil arrive from Ireland. Tom is on the run as an I.R.A sympathiser who has attended their …
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Anna finds evidence to prove that Vera poisoned herself after John had left her house in order to incriminate him,giving new hope for an appeal. Edith is offered the chance to write a regular newspaper column whilst Isobel employs Ethel - to the irritation of pietists among the Abbey staff - and Jimmy is troubled by Thomas's attentions towards him. Ivy proves her worth in the kitchen with even Daisy complimenting her. Sybil has a difficult pregnancy as she is unwell,a fact observed by family doctor Clarkson though an eminent obstetrician Sir Philip Tapsell,brought in …
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Cora is still cold to Robert following Sybil's funeral and he is not best pleased when Tom announces that he wants his daughter,also to be named Sybil,to be raised as a Catholic,especially as Cora and her daughters back the young Irishman. He also clashes with Matthew over the running of the estate and there is further humiliation for him when Isobel invites the ladies of Downton to a dinner cooked by Ethel and, tipped off by the sanctimonious Carson, he tries to get them to leave because of Ethel's past,all of them defying him. Violet does however reconcile Robert …
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Thomas fears for his job as Robert's valet and not just because John has been released back to Downton Abbey,to the delight of everybody else. The vengeful O'Brien,attempting to advance Alfred in the household,has tricked him into believing that his feelings for Jimmy are reciprocated,leading him to make a disastrous play for the shocked footman. And O'Brien makes sure that Carson finds out. Robert is doubly annoyed. Edith has decided to go to London and accept the journalist post,where she is charmed by magazine editor Gregson.Furthermore Matthew is insisting the …
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Carson promises Thomas that if he resigns,citing John's return as the reason,he will give him a good reference. However O'Brien persuades Jimmy to tell the butler that he will call the police unless the reference is withdrawn. John finds out and reminds O'Brien of the incident when Cora slipped on the soap,causing her to get Jimmy to back down. As a result Thomas is kept on as under-butler. Ethel accepts a post nearer to the Bryants when Mrs Bryant appears,to tell her that she can have access to her son. Violet's great-niece Rose comes to stay,apparently bored with …
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The Crawleys travel to Duneagle castle in Scotland to holiday with Rose and her parents ‘Shrimpie’ and Susan,an unhappily married couple due to leave for Bombay in line with Shrimpie's posting with the Diplomatic Corps. Robert discovers the reason for the rift in the marriage and the move - Shrimpie's mismanagement has lost the family home. Edith's editor and lover Michael Gregson also turns up and is befriended by Matthew,who believes he should let Edith down gently as he is unable to divorce his mentally ill wife.Edith however is not so willing to give him up. Back …
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Six months later and Mary is still mourning Matthew, leaving the care of baby George to Nanny West. Tom tries to interest her in estate management to little avail but Violet eventually persuades her to look to the future. Miss O'Brien leaves without any explanation to take work with Lady Flintshire, Rose's mother. Mrs Hughes is less than happy with Cora's replacement for her, Edna, a former maid who tried to seduce Tom. Edith goes to London, where Michael tells her he is prepared to go to Germany for a divorce so that they can be together. She brings electric kitchen …
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Mary receives a letter from Matthew's effects, naming her as his sole heir and therefore the owner of half the estate. Encouraged by Violet she agrees to shadow Tom and learn more about the running of Downton and its surrounding properties. Edna makes an inauspicious start as Cora's maid but soon forms an alliance with Thomas to discredit Anna. Anna herself accompanies Rose to a tea-dance in York for servants, where Rose, pretending to be a maid, attracts gardener Sam Thawley but also provokes a fight so that a hurried exit is required as the police arrive. Later Sam …
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The Crawleys throw a weekend house party with guests including Terence Sampson and Anthony, Lord Gillingham. Tom is out of his depth making small talk but Edith is happy to welcome Michael into the group. Mary confides in Gillingham - although he is engaged to another woman - but John is irritated by Gillingham's valet Green's flirtatious attentions to Anna. Isobel, still mourning her son, is persuaded by Violet to join the party for a recital by opera singer Nellie Melba, where Molesley, now working as a delivery driver, stands in for the injured Jimmy as footman and…
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As the guests leave Anna keeps her rape by Green from John but is distant towards him, considering separate sleeping arrangements. Tom feels guilty after succumbing to Edna's advances again but seeks help from Mrs Hughes, who exposes Edna as a blackmailer and the lady's maid leaves the abbey in a hurry. Mary and Tom go to London on business, taking Rose, who is charmed by black American vocalist Jack Ross. On her return homer Mary is followed by Anthony, who, despite being betrothed to another woman, proposes marriage, though Mary rejects him. Edith stays in London …
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Robert is perturbed when Mary and Tom suggest intensive pig-farming on his land and Evelyn returns with his superior Charles Blake, to assess the viability of estates such as Downton. Blake does not impress Mary but both men are invited to stay for Robert's birthday party, for which Rose has engaged Jack Ross and his band. Rose's involvement with Ross would seem to go beyond the professional. At the party Isobel dissuades Tom from emigrating to America with his daughter and later she proves to Violet that young Pegg was not a thief, being surprised by the dowager's …
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Robert is summoned to America to bail out reprobate brother-in-law Harold but, after Mrs Hughes has given her the ‘official’ version of Anna's rape Mary steps in to let John stay with his wife with his place being taken by Barrow. He is curious as to the change of plan, asking Baxter to find out more, which Molesley overhears. Isobel plans to go with Tom to a meeting addressed by a Liberal MP but stays behind to nurse flu-stricken Violet, and he goes alone, sitting next to Daisy, an attractive young woman. In London Edith discovers she is pregnant but refuses an …
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Charles leaves, Mary having appointed Tim Drewe as pig-man but when Anthony Gillingham's projected visit to Downton is announced Mary detects from Anna's reaction that something is wrong and learns the rapist's identity. The visit passes without incident though Mary turns down a proposal from Anthony, who has broken off his engagement. Later, at Mary's request, he sacks Green. Mary is alarmed when Rose tells her she is marrying Jack Ross and goes to see the singer, who assures her he is realistic enough to know that the union cannot take place. Lady Rosamund plans to …
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It's summer and as part of Rose's ‘coming out’ she is to be presented at Buckingham Palace. The family are in London, preparing Grantham House for the busy social programme.
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The general Election of 1924 brings a Labour government into power, to the consternation of Robert and Carson, though many of the staff are pleased to have a prime minister from the working class. A village delegation, building a war memorial to local dead, requests Carson, not Robert, to head its committee and the class-bound butler feels awkward, ensuring the earl is made a patron. Tim Drewe tells Lady Edith he knows that Marigold, the daughter he and his wife have adopted, is her child whilst Lady Mary receives another proposal from Tony Gillingham. Violet …
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Plans for the war memorial do not go as smoothly as hoped. Rose tries to get a wireless at Downton, while Mary goes to Liverpool for her weekend with Lord Gillingham. Edith wants to get more involved in baby Marigold's life and Baxter still refuses to reveal her whole story. Art historian Simon Bricker is a houseguest who seems to be interested in more than just the paintings at the Abbey.
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Mary wakes up in bed with Tony Gillingham after their tryst and returns to Downton, where she learns that a building firm want to buy land for a housing estate, to which Robert objects. Violet discovers from her butler Spratt about Mary and Tony but covers for her before summoning her for an explanation. Mary explains to her that she plans to marry Tony but later tells Tom the truth, that she has no intention. In return he confesses that he is considering a move to America. Following the policeman's visit Anna is perturbed that her ordeal will be revealed, …
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Violet and Isobel visit the soup kitchen Rose is running for the Russian refugees and Isobel is surprised when Violet confesses that Prince Kuragin once asked her to run away with him. Isobel herself is flattered by Lord Merton's sincere marriage proposal but asks for time to consider whilst Mary travels to London to reject Tony's offer. He is persistent but by chance she meets and dines with Charles Blake. Edith hears that Michael is alive but in prison in Germany for opposing Fascists though is upset when the Drewes refuse to let her see Marigold. Bricker's …
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Tom breaks off his friendship with Sarah but, on learning that she is moving to another job in Preston and encouraged by Daisy, wishes her well and thanks her for reminding him who he is. Rose meets Atticus Aldridge, a young lawyer of Russian-Jewish descent, who invites her to call on him when she is in London whilst the police interview Anna regarding Green's death, to the interest of Barrow, whose unhealthy complexion is getting noticed. Baxter relates her crime to Molesley and the pair grow closer. Violet's daughter Rosamund visits and the dowager tumbles to the …
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Violet has a new maid, Denker, who makes it clear to her what she regards as the limitations of her duties. She accompanies Violet to see Prince Kuragin with news of his wife's whereabouts but the dowager is shocked when Kuragin reveals that he still loves her. An anonymous letter to the police has them questioning Baxter as to whether John ever went to London though she is unable to help. Aware that it was sent by Barrow she is forgiving enough to take him to see Dr Clarkson, who tells him that he cannot ‘cure’ his sexuality. Robert and Cora reconcile as Robert …
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Violet and Rosamund tell an angry Cora Edith's secret, which she promises to keep from Robert. Atticus brings his parents to stay, his mother being charming but his father less than happy that he wants to marry the non-Jewish Rose. Atticus suggests ringing Edith at the publishers but instead Cora goes to London and brings Edith and her daughter home, passing Marigold off as a deceased friend's child. Tom decides to take his daughter to live in America with his cousin whilst John and Anna contemplate running a hotel. They are not wholly satisfied with Baxter's …
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Violet is shaken when Kuragin confesses that he loves her and wishes to remain with her rather than locate his missing wife. The family then goes to London for Rose's wedding where her sour mother Susan makes it clear that she and estranged husband Shrimpy are only putting up a show of togetherness for the wedding and she is as disapproving of the match as Lord Sinderby. On his stag night Atticus is tricked into appearing shirtless with a prostitute and the photo sent to Rose. Sinderby is suspected but Shrimpy knows it is Susan though he tells nobody, Rose however …
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Autumn of 1924. It's grouse shooting season and Rose's father-in-law, Lord Sinderby, has rented out Brancaster Castle in Northumberland and invited the Crawley family to a shooting party.
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Lady Mary's past catches up with her when an unwelcome visitor delivers an ultimatum, and news about the running of Downton Hospital puts Violet on the warpath.
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What begins as a happy day out for the family and servants ends in panic and leaves Robert with a difficult decision to make.
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An old acquaintance comes to Edith's aid, while Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes' big day brings an unexpected arrival.
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Anna and Mary face a crisis and a figure from the past surprises those above and below stairs.
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Violet embroils the Minister of Health in the hospital row, but his visit ends in catastrophe. Mary's suspicions are aroused.
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Downton Abbey opens its doors to the public for charity, and tensions between Cora and Violet reach a dramatic climax.
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The family face a shocking turn of events at Brooklands racetrack while Molesley and Daisy are put to the test.
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Romance blossoms but a betrayal of trust threatens the chance of lasting happiness. Thomas considers desperate measures.
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Two-hour Christmas special and the series finale.