Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey (19 page)

From love letters to newspapers, restaurant menus to patients’ records and even the nameplates on the doors to the servants’ rooms,
Downton
requires a vast number of print and paper props.

Even if objects are not integral to the plot, they are often made specifically for the show. The newspapers read on screen have been recreated from scans of antique publications kept at the British Library’s archive in London, as the originals are too fragile to use on set. ‘Can you imagine if someone put their teacup on them?’ says Charmian Adams.

The art department may also insert articles into newspapers that are demanded by the script, such as news stories or announcements. Multiple copies of these modified papers are printed by specialist company Data Reprographics.

However, many items are painstakingly handmade at Ealing by Chantelle Valentine, the assistant art director. If, for instance, Robert is reading a letter, it will be one of half a dozen handwritten by her.

To dress scenes set and shot at London’s historic Criterion restaurant, a period menu was sourced from The Ritz hotel replicating what was in vogue at the time. It is very French, as was fashionable, with dishes divided into ‘
poissons
’ and ‘
legumes
’ – although a curry section also offers diners ‘Mutton Bombay’.

The art department make free use of historical archives to produce such items, basing another menu on one held in the graphics collection at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The original is not copied exactly; the spacing and the style may be tweaked, or lettering added to suit.

Other such recreations can also be spotted in the Abbey. To stock the boot room, tins of polish came from a hire company, but labels for various bottles were made in-house. ‘By the time they are 100 years old, they’re pretty tired,’ says Charmian Adams. To create fresher-looking packaging, an original label may be scanned and duplicated, but they also design their own packaging from scratch.

A letter may just be glimpsed on screen, but its contents always correspond to the action. Michelle Dockery (Mary) says: ‘When we’re reading or writing a letter, you can really get into character through the detail in the props.’

So if someone has just received an invitation to tea, that will be communicated in writing, in an appropriate hand. ‘It’s very beautiful, delicate script for the girls, while the men tend to have a more hurried style – though Matthew’s was looser and more dreamy,’ says Chantelle Valentine.

Valentine makes hundreds of envelopes, as those used at the time would have been much smaller than those used today. Filming requires multiple copies of the same letter, sometimes up to 15, so the actor can open up a fresh one for each take.

Alastair Bruce, meanwhile, ensures that the forms of address are correct. A letter to Violet, for instance, should be sent to: ‘The Dowager Countess of Grantham, The Dower House, Downton, Yorkshire’, with no postcode.

Downton
’s wardrobe room at Ealing Studios is a hive of activity overseen by Caroline McCall, the show’s Emmy Award-winning costume designer (pictured opposite with Maggie Smith).

Gareth Neame sees her work as a vital element of the show’s success: ‘The costume designer is really part of the producing team, because she has a huge amount to do with the telling of the story.’

While many items are found at vintage fairs or are hired from costume houses, much is created for the show. McCall explains: ‘It’s incredibly difficult to find enough clothes from this period; the fabrics are so delicate that they’ve perished. Also, because this look was fashionable in the Seventies, they are just not around any more.’

When a period piece is tracked down, it is unlikely to be ready to wear. ‘Usually they need a lot of love, or are turned into another garment. For the female principals, the majority of clothes in the fourth series have been sourced and manipulated to make other items, or have been made from scratch.’