Facts About Downton Abbey
12 Fascinating Facts You Probably Don't Know About "Downton Abbey"
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The major plot in season two involves the Crawleys opening up Downton to serve as a convalescent hospital for soldiers wounded during the "Great War." In real life, Highclere Castle and its stewards, the Carnavons, did the exact same thing. As shown in a BBC featurette, the Countess of Carnavon, like the fictional Countess of Grantham, oversaw the transformation of the estate into a temporary hospital to support the war effort.