Castles on Camera: HGTV Visits the Real "Downton Abbey"

The stately home that millions of Downton Abbey fans have grown to adore is no movie set, but an actual castle. HGTV takes you inside Highclere Castle to see its spectacular rooms and meet the real-life lord and lady of the manor.

By David L. Haynes

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Lord of the Manor

George Reginald Oliver Molyneuz Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon, godson of Queen Elizabeth II and Lord of Highclere Castle, stands in the home's library. This room was a favorite of the current Earl's great-great-grandfather, who used it for entertaining and as a personal retreat. The actual library — which, in Downton Abbey, doubles as Lord Grantham's study and refuge — contains around 5,650 books, some of which are more than 500 years old. The producers of the series found Highclere's interiors to be so ideal for their needs that they film many of the show's scenes in the castle's rooms just as they are — with the actual furnishings in place and with little or no redressing.