Thread by @MiningNS

Excited to see the #DowntonAbbeyMovie? Here's the history of that amazing building...which is actually #HighclereCastle in #England but we will call it by the name we all know and love: #DowntonAbbey!

#nspoli #DowntonAbbeyFilm #NovaScotia #NS #builtheritage @DowntonAbbey

@DowntonAbbey #DowntonAbbey's land was granted to the Church in 749 and held by it for 800 years. A bishop's home (a palace, really) was built in the 1300s. The land was taken from the church in 1551 during the #ProtestantReformation and it’s been owned by several families since.
#nspoli #NS

@DowntonAbbey The bishop’s palace at the site of #DowntonAbbey was rebuilt in 1679 as a #brick manor house (the drawing below). Some of the brick can still be seen at the building’s rear. In the 1700s, formal gardens and paths were built.
#nspoli #NS #NovaScotia #DowntonAbbeyMovie

@DowntonAbbey Follies were built at #DowntonAbbey in the 1700s. #Follies are decorative, non-functional structures made to look like old buildings or ruins. Follies were a popular #landscaping trend in #England in the 1700s.
#nspoli #DowntonAbbeyFilm #DowntonAbbeyMovie #NovaScotia #NS

@DowntonAbbey #DowntonAbbey’s thousand acres of grounds also include two hill forts and other structures from the Iron Age and Bronze Age.

More about #Downton tomorrow!

#nspoli #NovaScotia #DowntonAbbeyFilm #DowntonAbbeyMovie #NS

@DowntonAbbey In 1839 Sir Charles Barry was hired to rebuild #DowntonAbbey. He was also rebuilding at that time #London's #HousesofParliament after an 1834 fire. #Downton partly imitated the look of the #parliament buildings.

#nspoli #NovaScotia #ns #DowntonAbbeyMovie @DowntonAbbey

@DowntonAbbey The “new” #DowntonAbbey was made of #limestone from Bath, 60 miles west of #Highclere, which was hauled to #Downton by oxen. It’s softer stone and could be carved with great intricacy.
#nspoli #NovaScotia #ns #DowntonAbbeyMovie #DowntonAbbeyFilm

@DowntonAbbey The frame of the old #DowntonAbbey was retained to reduce renovation costs - the levels of the windows and floors weren't changed. The older brick building was just encased in the #limestone and new parts like the tower were added.
#nspoli #NovaScotia #ns #DowntonAbbeyMovie

@DowntonAbbey #Bath #limestone formed 167 million years ago when the area was covered by a shallow sea. (Limestone is the shells and bones of marine organisms compressed over millions of years.)
#nspoli #DowntonAbbey #DowntonAbbeyFilm #DowntonAbbeyMovie #geology

@DowntonAbbey #Bath #limestone has been used as building stone since Roman times. It has a distinctive and beautiful honey colour, easily seen in photos of #DowntonAbbey.

More tomorrow…
#nspoli #DowntonAbbey #DowntonAbbeyFilm #DowntonAbbeyMovie #NovaScotia #NS

@DowntonAbbey Some plots in #DowntonAbbey are based on the house’s real history. For example, it really was a hospital in #WWI (below is a picture with blinds to darken rooms for the patients). The show also highlighted the challenge of maintaining such a large, old house.
#nspoli #NovaScotia

@DowntonAbbey When #DowntonAbbey's owner gave a ball for 1000 guests in the 1950s, he wanted the house to be perfect. So the crenellations around the tower, which were falling apart, were reconstructed for the occasion in particle board, and then floodlighted!
#nspoli #NovaScotia #downton #NS

@DowntonAbbey The current owners of #DowntonAbbey do ongoing renovations, partly funded by revenue from the TV show. The Bath stone used in repairs is darkened with a zinc oxide mixture to blend it in with the older parts of the house.
#nspoli #NovaScotia #DowntonAbbeyMovie #DowntonAbbeyFilm

@DowntonAbbey #DowntonAbbey's owner in 1867 was #Britain's Colonial Secretary, meaning he was involved in writing the #British #NorthAmerica Act that established #Canada as a country. Some negotiations were held at #Downton and his diary referenced #NS' opposition to #Confederation!
#nspoli

@DowntonAbbey Fans of #DowntonAbbey and its #Victorian elegance may be scandalized to learn that #HighclereCastle was also a filming location for a particularly racy scene in #TomCruise movie #EyesWideShut.
I'd better lie down on my fainting couch...
#nspoli #downtonabbeymovie #NovaScotia #NS