Downton Abbey comes to town!

About 20 minutes from Oxford is a charming little village called Bampton.  It has been used for the village scenes in the popular BBC production "Downton Abbey".  Today, the film crews showed up and started filming the fourth season.  

This is the church and little green that has been used throughout the series.  This church is where Mary and Matthew were married and where Lady Edith was left at the alter.

The woman in black is the character Anna Smith (Joanne Froggatt)  

This is Doctor Clarkson  waiting around for a scene in which he runs into Mrs. Crawley

A group of towns people dressed up as extras and waiting for their scene

There is a library on one side of the square that is converted into the Downton Hospital

I don't know who this character is but I could tell she was cold!

Mrs. Crawley (Penelope Wilton)  getting ready for her scene

Again, a lot of hurry-up-and-wait

Getting the props on their marks

Dr. Clarkson (David Robb) also waiting for the scene to start 

Me with my dear friends and fellow gawkers

Mr. Bates (Brendan Coyle)  walking during a scene -- the cameras were rolling 

This is the same little square in front of the church but from a different angle so it looks like an entirely new location. 

My partner in crime for the day -- Mary Jeanne

It doesn't take much to make this little village look like the 1920s. 

Again, cameras rolling.  I took a video of the scene but the sound didn't come through so there isn't much action: 


This is one of the reasons I love living here in Oxford -- there are all sorts of delightful surprises that come along each week, like getting to watch the filming of several scenes of next season's Downton Abbey.  Sometimes I just have to pinch myself.