24 New Zealand Woman’s Weekly
interesting script.’
“I asked her what it was and
nearly fell through the floor
when she said it was the role of
Lady Bagshaw in the Downton
film. So that was lovely, but we
don’t go out of our way to work
together because it’s nice to
do different things and bring
different energies back home.”
As it happened, they had no
dialogue together in the film.
“There were three days when
we were in the same scene,
once in a field as the King’s
Troop came in on horseback,
another time across the dining
table,” Jim says. “But there was
no interchange between us. I
know it was a good experience
for her. And she was in storylines
with other newcomers, like her
maid Lucy, played by Tuppence
Middleton, and with Geraldine
James as Queen Mary.”
Now that Imelda has joined
the aristocracy, has she acquired
airs and graces? Does she ring a
bell when she requires a cup of
tea? Jim rumbles with laughter.
“She doesn’t have to. I’m
completely under her thumb.
My morning mission, as it has
been for many years, is to carry
a tray of tea to the bedroom
as she wakes up.”
Downton Abbey first aired
in September 2010 and bowed
out, after six series, in December- Jim appeared in each of
the 52 episodes.
Does he have any particularly
favourite moments? “Yes,” he
says, “Lady Mary coming down
the stairs in her wedding dress
prior to marrying Matthew. Her
father, Lord Grantham, was
there but she looked at me and
said, ‘Will I do, Carson?’ It made
me feel like her downstairs dad.”
He always loved his scenes
with Lady Mary (played by
Michelle Dockery). “One always
sticks in my mind. It was written
for series one, but for some
reason we never got to film it.
I implored them to put it in
series two, and they did.
“It showed me talking to Mrs
Hughes, recalling when Lady
Mary was six years old and
borrowed sixpence from me
because she wanted to go into
town. It had been her idea to
steal some silver and sell it. But
I advised against it and lent
her the sixpence instead. Mrs
Hughes asked if she ever repaid
me, and I answered, ‘Yes, she
repaid me with a kiss, which was
payment enough.’ So sweet.
“Carson is so intent on not
letting anyone see behind the
façade. That’s what makes the
private moments so much more
poignant. He’s very traditional;
he doesn’t want anything to
change. As a 70-year-old myself,
I have some sympathy with all
of that.”
For Lady Carnarvon, a film
crew taking up residence for
seven or so months every year
proved a challenge. “But we got
quite practised at handling that,”
she says. “We stuck all our best
china in the smoking room, and
the desk that once belonged to
Napoleon was also moved out
of potential harm’s way.”
Adds Jim, “And we were very
conscious of van Dyck’s portrait
of Charles I on horseback in the
dining room. At the end of the
day, it was our ‘office’ but the
Carnarvons’ home.” Although
they have a separate house onthe estate, Lord and Lady
Carnarvon also have quarters
within Highclere.
What if Maggie Smith, say,
fancied a nap between scenes?
Did Lady Carnarvon make a
bedroom available to her?
“Of course,” she says, “and
that occasionally happened.
We have between 50 and 80
bedrooms depending on what’s
required at any one time.”
Initially, Lady Carnarvon got
to know the actors playing the
Crawleys because their scenes
were shot at Highclere. The
downstairs staff filmed all their
action at Ealing Studios. “So I
made a point of inviting them to
the castle,” she says. “Lesley
Nicol (Mrs Patmore) came to
stay more than once.”
Who could have predicted
10 years ago the extraordinary
success of Downton? And
now, of course, there’s the film,
complete with a royal visit that
echoes Highclere’s past.
“Queen Caroline, the wife of
George II, once stayed here,”
says Lady Carnarvon, “as did
Edward VII, while the current
royal family have all been here.”
And what about George V
and Queen Mary? “Absolutely.
I have their signatures in the
visitors’ book.”
Historical rumour suggests
you’d have been advised to
count the silver teaspoons after
Queen Mary had departed.
Has Lady Carnarvon heard
as much? “There have been
various stories,” she says,
“but overall, she was a rather
magnificent queen.” #
Richard BarberFiona and husband George
(above left) relax among
their opulent interiors which
Downton cast members
such as Douglas Reith and
Penelope Wilton (left) took
great care of while filming
the movie and series.