Downton Revisited

The ancient market town of Bampton (also called Bampton-in-the-Bush) lies in the south of the Cotswolds in the county of Oxfordshire, not far from the River Thames. Until about 1850 it stood in the centre of a large area of common land. Bampton is sometimes described as a town, because it used to be a market town until the 19th century. It is now officially designated a village but has both a Town Hall and a Village Hall. The town has many pleasant 17th and 18th century houses, a few inns and a minute early 19th century Italianate Town Hall. Bampton is one of the oldest towns in England.

At the time of the Norman Conquest, Bampton was one of the three largest settlements in the county. It had an important salt works and an early market. The town enjoyed amazing prosperity in the early Middle ages.

Whilst the fictional village of Downton is located in Yorkshire, the outdoor filming actually takes place here in the village of Bampton on the edge of the Cotswolds. Churchgate House is used for the exterior shots of Isobel Crawley’s house. St Mary’s Church dates from the 1100s, which is renamed as St Michael and All Angels during filming, has hosted a number of dramatic Downton Abbey events including weddings, funerals, christenings and even a jilting at the altar.

The parish church of Saint Mary the Virgin was built on the site of a late Anglo-Saxon Minster - the tower of that minster survives within the present church. It has a 13th-century 170ft spire and carved stone reredos of Christ and the apostles from around 1400.
From the Church gate you head down Church View. Immediately on the right is an old wooden arched door set into the stone wall. This is the entrance for Bampton library and archives, but during filming it doubles as the entrance for Downton Hospital. The street of Church View has appeared regularly throughout the series; it was the site of Downton Fair and is the home of two fictional pubs, The Grantham Arms and The Dog and Duck.

 

We then diverted onto the Bampton circular walk, first crossing Shill Brook

Round passed the decommissioned RAF Bampton Station, once RAF Bampton Castle. The site was not a flying station, but a communications station. It was closed in 2006 and more than 70 communications masts were removed.

Returning along Shill Brook to Bampton

It was then on to Cogges Farm via Whitney.
 
Cogges Manor Farm in Witney, Oxfordshire is a beautifully preserved collection of Cotswold stone farm buildings set in its own grounds. The site has been farmed since before the Domesday Book and parts of the manor house date back to the C13.

Cogges Manor Farm is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The manor house and 17th century farm buildings are Grade 11 Listed, appearing in the Domesday Book of 1086. The first owner of Cogges being Wadard, who appears as a Norman knight riding a horse on the Bayeux tapestry. The manor house stood originally by the River Windrush. 'Cogges Castle' was defended by a moat.

Cogges was transformed into Downton’s Yew Tree Farm, as some volunteers, sheep and chickens achieved fame when they were picked as extras! Filmed in the manor house kitchen and grounds, Yew Tree Farm is home to the Drewe family in series 4 & 5, where Lady Edith’s child is brought up. Dame Maggie Smith and characters Tom Branson, Lady Edith and Lady Mary featured in episodes. Cogges also featured in series 6.

The church at Cogges dates from the l2th century but was extended and remodelled in the l4th century. It has a curious tower that is square at the base but octagonal further up, with a pyramidal roof.The church also contains a memorial to William Blake, his wife Sarah and son Francis, who lived at Cogges Manor Farm next door.