If you’re like me and went through a period of mourning when Downton Abbey Season 6 came to a close then you’ll be happy to know that you can get your fix at Downton Abbey: The Exhibition right here in NYC.

This was a blind ticket buy for me since I no one I knew had seen it and I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t give much credibility to online reviews. You can probably relate. I went after seeing a matinee show of Come From Away – which I highly recommend BTW – on a girls day with my friend Amy to celebrate our 25 year friendship and upcoming birthdays.

The Exhibition is a traveling self-guided tour which offers viewings from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM seven days a week. We purchased our tickets for  4:30 which would give us plenty of time to walk over to West 57th after our show. We got there a little early and there was already a long line but it moved quickly.

Daisy and Mrs. Patmore

Once inside, we were warmly greeted by Carson and Mrs. Hughes before learning that the exhibition spans 3 full floors of sets, costumes and props from the acclaimed BBC series. Among the familiar haunts are Mrs. Patmore’s chaotic kitchen, the servants quarters that double as stomping grounds for gossip, the Crawley family’s opulent dining room and Lady Mary’s bedroom.

The floors are broken up into the servants quarters on the first floor, main living area on the second and wardrobes and placards indicating who wore what outfit on the top floor. Walking through recreations of the servants hall, family dining room and Lady Mary’s bedroom made it highly interactive. 

Dining Room

There were also a number of interactive popups from the staff and family and even a little test to tell you what “position” you would be good for in the household. I especially loved the dining room with Carson explaining the proper way to set the table and the proper dining etiquette of the day. I enjoyed hearing about protocol for dinner discussions, the need for so many daily outfits and what life was like for those in service. The videos, especially of Violet Crowley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, were a wonderful narration of the major themes of the Edwardian era.

Lady Mary and Anna

Down in the servants quarters you can see the original bell board used in the series. And yes it does actually ring.

Seeing all the artifacts, the sets, the clothing and the jewels up close was amazing. If you were impressed by them in TV series you’ll be gobsmacked seeing them at close vision. The videos were also incredible and helped you recall the moments of humor, of tragedy and of historical significance in the series. The attention to detail in recreating Highclere Castle was impressive.

You are allowed to take photos (without flash) while viewing the exhibition which was nice but the lighting was such that it was almost impossible to take any good shots. I’ll also add that it was pretty crowded so if you do plan on seeing it and likely will want to take photos, I’d recommend going during a week-day morning when they’ll be far fewer people. 

I was a little disappointed that no perfume bottles were on display since the ladies in the show always had bottles of perfume on their dressing tables. Since the series took place in a fictional country estate between 1912 and 1926, I’m imagining that they might have been:

L’Heure Bleue by Guerlain – A beguling oriental with orris, vanilla and Bulgarian rose (Released in 1912)

Quelques Fleurs by Houbigant – a magnificent floral bouquet which featured the newly discovered hydroxycitronellal (Released in 1912)

Chypré by Coty – A revolutionary composition considered to be modern and slightly masculine and came to represent a whole family of fragrances  (Released in 1917)

Tabac Blond by Caron – Uniquely sophisticated, it adopted Virginia tobacco as its central theme (Created in 1919)

Mitsouko by Guerlain – A Chypré with notes of peach, rose and jasmine (Released in 1919)

No.5 by Chanel – An aldehydic floral featuring rose, jasmine and ylang ylang (Released in 1921)

I’m guessing guessing No.5 for Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, since she’s sweet, devoted and pretty, and Chypré for Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, since she’s bossy, imperious and (almost) always gets her way. What about you? Any thoughts on which lady would wear which perfume?

Until the next time,