Downton Abbey‘s timeline follows the lives of the Crawley family and their staff over the course of several years, from 1912 to 1928. The series itself spans from 1912 to 1925, and the two movies from 1927 to 1928, which is when Downton Abbey: A New Era is set. In England, these decades were a time of rapid changes in social structures, with the rise of the working class and decline of the aristocracy, and of significant historical events, most importantly The Great War. Downtown Abbey: A New Era introduces new twists and the onset of filmmaking in the early 20th century into the lives of those who depend upon the Grantham estate. Over the course of six seasons and two films, Downton Abbey entwines the fictional characters’ stories with the true historical events going on around them both in the UK and the wider world.
Downton Abbey, created by Julian Fellowes, first premiered in the fall of 2010 and quickly saw success across the UK, US, and internationally. Many of Downton Abbey‘s actors have enjoyed fame thanks to the show as well. Audiences were introduced to the aristocratic Crawley family including Hugh Bonneville as the Earl of Grantham, Elizabeth McGovern as his wife the Countess of Grantham, and their three daughters Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael), and Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay). Maggie Smith plays the imposing Dowager Countess of Grantham, and Penelope Wilton embodies Isobel Crawley, her match in wit and willpower. Among the staff of the estate are Mr. Carson the butler, Mrs. Hughes the housekeeper, and Thomas Barrow, the footman-turned-butler. Among Downton Abbey‘s many awards are three Golden Globes and sixteen Primetime Emmys.
The Downton Abbey timeline begins with season 1 in 1912, just after the sinking of the Titanic. Across six seasons, Downton and its residents live through World War I, the Spanish Influenza pandemic, structural economic shifts, and rapid social changes. The successful 2019 Downton Abbey movie takes place shortly after the events of the series, in 1927, and Downton Abbey: A New Era takes the Crawleys into 1928 amid the rise of Hollywood.
Downton Abbey Season 1, 1912-1914
Downton Abbey season 1 is set right at the sinking of the Titanic on the night between the 14th and 15th of April, 1912. Both of the male heirs to the Downton Abbey estate are believed to have perished in the disaster and a distant cousin, Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), becomes the next in line. Throughout Downton Abbey season 1’s timeline, war is looming and the fabric of social life is quickly changing. During these years, the UK saw the Liberal Government (1905-1915) in charge and a rise in movements for equality, such as the Suffragettes, in which Jessica Brown Findlay’s Downton Abbey character, Lady Sybil, takes part. Downton Abbey season 1 ends with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the official start of World War I in August of 1914.
Downton Abbey Season 2, 1916-1918
Season 2 picks up with the Battle of the Somme, which took place between July 1 and November 18, 1916. The second episode of Downton Abbey season 2 is set in April of 1917 when the war is in full swing, and the Crawleys decide to convert their estate into a war-time hospital, while several of the men from Downton join the army (including Matthew and footmen William and Thomas). Just as The Great War is ending in November of 1918, the Spanish Influenza pandemic takes hold, which lasted past the events of season 2 until 1920. The Downton Abbey season 2 Christmas episode takes place in the winter of 1919.
Downton Abbey Season 3, 1920-1921
Downton Abbey season 3 narrows the timeline to just two years. Having come out of the war and the pandemic, the Crawley family contend with the loss of their fortune due to the Earl’s failed investments in the Grand Trunk Railway in Canada and the Eastern United States, which went bankrupt between 1919-1920. In the post-war period, many great estates struggled financially and were sold, a fate which Downton is determined to avoid. David Lloyd George was the Prime Minister during this time, up until 1922, and two brewing revolutions, that of Women’s Suffrage and Irish Independence, reach Downton. In the season 3 special episode, the family spend time at Duneagle Castle, before Downton Abbey’s tragic Dan Stevens exit/Matthew Crawley death.
Downton Abbey Season 4, 1922-1923
Downton Abbey season 4 also takes place over two years, during which the Conservative Party took over the government and King George V was still on the throne. This season opens six months after the last episode with Mary and the whole family still grieving Matthew’s death. As the 1920s get underway, Lady Rose (Lily James) experiences the socially progressive and more racially integrated jazz scene, and Socialist and anti-aristocratic views become more mainstream. In a special additional episode, Lady Rose is presented at Buckingham Palace in the summer of 1923, which is actually the first time Downton Abbey‘s Crawleys meet King George and Queen Mary.
Downton Abbey Season 5, 1924
Downton Abbey season 5’s timeline covers just one year, 1924. Politically, this was a time in which the Conservatives and Labour party were jostling for political ground. The Downton estate continues to modernize, as the younger generation (Mary and Tom Branson) clashes with the older generation (Robert Crawley) about the best way forward. The special episode at the end of Downton Abbey season 5 is set during a shooting party in Northumberland in the fall of 1924.
Downton Abbey Season 6, 1925
The final season of Downton Abbey, season 6, is set in 1925. Downton is becoming increasingly difficult to run as a private estate, and the threat of bankruptcy looms over the family. The rise of the middle class and growing fluid distinctions between social strata make for a lot of shifts in society. The two-hour Christmas special series finale closes out the main Downton Abbey timeline on New Years Eve of 1925.
Downton Abbey Film, 1927
The Downton Abbey movie, released in cinemas in 2019, picks up where the series left off. This film version of Downton Abbey is set in 1927, during a fictional yet historically-plausible visit by King George V and Queen Mary to Downton. George V was on the throne for the entirety of the Downton Abbey timeline, so it was fitting to include him in the Downton Abbey movie. As the film ends, Mr. Carson is convinced that the Crawley family will still be at Downton a hundred years in the future, though with all the social and political changes the 15 years of the series witnessed, they have no idea what is to come.
Downton Abbey: A New Era, 1928
2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era sees the Crawley family’s story continue, with massive changes to the fates of several main characters. The Crawleys visit France at the invitation of a Marquis after the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley inherits a French Riviera villa. Violet later succumbs to sickness and dies – but not before bequeathing the villa to her granddaughter Sybbie Branson. Meanwhile, back home in England, Lady Mary agrees to oversee productions for the silent film The Gambler at the Grantham estate, which covers the costs of much-needed house repairs. This gives Mary a chance to dip her toes in showbusiness and ultimately results in the butler Thomas Barrow moving to Hollywood for a promising new life. The Downton residents and staff also become integral to ensuring that The Gambler gets finished. Notably, Downton Abbey: A New Era culminates in a happy ending for Tom Branson, who marries Lucy Smith, Lady Bagshaw’s secret real daughter and sole heir to the Bagshaw estate, in a lavish ceremony. With their newborn infant, Tom and Lucy settle in Downton as a new portrait of Violet hangs in the main hall.
Key Release Dates
Downton Abbey 2
Release Date:2022-05-20
