Estate with proud farming history confirms return of cast for new Downtown Abbey film

A Grade I listed estate which has been farming in Berkshire for centuries has confirmed the return of a popular historical British drama.

Focus Features and Carnival Films have announced the return of the Downtown Abbey franchise, set during the early 20th Century, for a third film at Highclere Castle in Newbury.

With an overriding sense of respect for the land with all the wildlife that calls the estate its home, Highclere Castle, situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty, consists of 5,000 acres - including 2,000 acres of mixed arable farmland.

Written by Academy-Award winner Julian Fellowes, the series is set in a fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey which depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era.

The film has confirmed BAFTA and Emmy Award nominee Simon Curtis has returned to direct after 2022's Downton Abbey: A New Era.

Dating back to 1679, the estate has welcomed its doors once more with the likes of Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael and Jim Carter all returning to reprise their roles as Robert Crawley, Cora Crawley, Lady Mary Talbot, Edith Pelham and Charles Carson respectively.

Owners of the estate, Lord and Lady Carnarvon, manage the estate as a mixed farm - growing a variety of crops including wheat and barley as well as managing a flock of 1,400 Romney X Lleyn Breeding ewes and a small herd of British lop pigs. 

They have incorporated the flock of sheep in their arable rotation, and they said the move has improved soil structure and fertility whilst increasing soil organic matter. 

The estate has introduced long crop rotation into its system over recent years to make the farm more ecologically over recent years.

Haylage, hay and straw from the farm offer consistency and quality for horses and livestock. 

Lady Carnarvon said she was absolutely thrilled to see filming return to the estate.

"It was fourteen years ago that a certain film crew first rolled up to Highclere," she said.

"I still find it fascinating, turning short typed lines on a small piece of white thumbed paper into three dimensional characters with energy and lives shared on screens large and small.

"It is a huge team effort beginning with the writer, Julian Fellowes, to endless production and budgeting teams, then teams on the ground and finally the cast.

"It is a leap of imagination and faith and all of it irresistible.

"In this fragile world, I hope that Downton Abbey offers all of us a world apart and time out.

"Thank you to all the teams who make it possible."