Bampton/Downton

For my Birthday we took a day trip to Oxford and on the way home stopped at Bampton. It is a lovely Cotswold village featured as the "town' in Downton Abbey.  Since we have visited Highclere, and Basildon, where filming took place, we decided to see this little "Downton town" as well. This church is where Mary and Matthew were wed.  It was here we met a journalist for the "Daily Mail", and his photographer who were taking a photo at the same place. He was writing a news story about a proposed housing development to be built in the area.

Daily Mail:  October 20, 2014

Bampton's picture-perfect streets and houses made it the ideal setting as the fictional village of Downton.

And the Cotswolds village of Bampton has enjoyed a surge in tourism thanks to its starring role in Downton Abbey.

But residents are up in arms at the prospect of being overrun by more than the show’s devotees – thanks to a new housing development proposed under the Government’s planning regulations.

  Fans of the period drama have travelled to the rural town to visit churches and sites featured in the programme.

Critics say if the estates are approved, Bampton, which was chosen by Downton producers because it was well-preserved, will lose its charm.

Crawley House which is behind the Church

Bampton Library