It probably goes without saying that many of us have taken our new found extra time to “catch up” on shows and movies we just didn’t have the extra cycles to spend on in the past. And if you’ve been following my previous articles or know me personally, you know I have a soft spot for period or historical pieces.
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That said, I was convinced to check out – of all things – Downton Abbey. It was a popular PBS / Masterpiece Theatre drama from 2010-2015 (with a follow-on movie in 2019) about the lives of English aristocrats and their servants taking place from the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, through World War I, all the way into 1925-ish. The show is best known for it’s intricate plot lines, period appropriate costumes and overt “politeness” – but it’s also chock full of running/driving Classic Cars!
What does Lord Grantham drive?
Early in the show, we’re introduced to “Tom the Chauffer” – one of my favorite rabble rousers – who spends most of his time trying to seduce the youngest of Lord Grantham’s (played by Hugh Bonneville) daughters, Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay) and the rest of his time wrenching or driving the family to/from the village or the train station. This meant many shots of the garage and scenes with Classic Cars on the move; and playing many rounds of “Eye-Spy.” …including some early Fiats, Austins and more!
1911 Renault Type CB12/16hp Landaulette
I was immediately taken aback by the presence of a French car (the 1911 Renault) in a British household. And I’d identified it first by the distinct nose which I’d seen before in other early Renaults (like those we saw at the Simeone Foundation) and also the color scheme. Maybe that’s not a big deal, but it just seems off for some reason. Following the Downton time-line, this “brass-era” Renault was in service for about 7 years before the family acquired the 1924 Sunbeam 20/60hp during the early part of 1920*.
I took issue with some inconsistencies with the show, you’d see 1920-1922 Ford Model T’s (like above) being used in town or on the farms, well before their time (including pre-war). And the same is true of the Sunbeam, but it is by far my favorite daily driver. It was low to the ground and had a bit more grunt to it than other cars used in the Grantham fleet. The Sunbeam was the most used car during the course of the show, even though they tried to quietly replace it mid-way through Season 3 with a 1924 Cadillac V63 in a similar color scheme.
The heir apparent
What we do come to find out during some of the behind the scenes vignettes of Downton Abbey is that many of the actors, including Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham), Allen Leech (Tom Branson), Matthew Goode (Henry Talbot) actually learned to drive and drove many of these classic cars during the filming of the show. And some of you might recall that Hugh Bonneville was also on Top Gear as a “star in a reasonably priced car” – let’s check out this behind the scenes of that recording (below) and see how he did!
Meanwhile, Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) the heir to Downton and his new bride Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), on their return trip from their honeymoon took delivery of this beautiful light-green 1927 AC Six (below) – *yet another incorrect vehicle for the shows actual time line since it would have been built after the final episode. Nevertheless, this 2-seat roadster made many appearances before the story took a dramatic turn at the end of the Season 3.
btw… this is the same AC brand that would later turn out the famous “Cobra” (above).
Brooklands
As we’ve talked about in previous articles, formal racing started in the early 20th century and by 1925 it wasn’t a new concept – but was purposed on the series as something foreign and exotic, to everyone except for Tom… the *former* Chauffer. The introduction of “yet another suitor” for Lady Mary – does make one’s eyes roll, but by Season 6, Henry Talbot was a candidate I could support. A handsome, stylish, English racing driver – woot! Apparently not related to the Talbot, Talbot-Sunbeam, or Talbot-Darracq car builder from what we can surmise. Henry is seen sporting around in a flat-black Bentley roadster (below) and repeatedly invites the Crawley family to come see him test the new car and finally race at Brooklands.
And for those that aren’t familiar … the Brooklands Race Track (in 1925 Downton-Time) is a 2.75-mile racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907 and was the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain’s first airfields, which also became Britain’s largest aircraft manufacturing center by 1918.
Since most of the hour long Season 6, Episode 7 was spent and focused on Brooklands – It meant we spent a lot of time focusing on cars, the track and racing! Hoorah! and when asked “I don’t understand the attraction to racing“… Tom replies “It’s all about THE SPEED!” – I might have blurted out an obligatory – Amen! … (even if was only 60 mph).
Now if you’re a connoisseur of European racing circuits, you will quickly identify from various camera angles that this episode was actually filmed at Goodwood Circuit (home of the Goodwood Festival of Speed) and not Brooklands. Brooklands hosted its last race in 1939, and today part of it forms the Brooklands Museum, a major aviation and motoring museum, as well as a venue for vintage car, motorcycle and other transport-related events. Many parts of Brooklands are in disrepair and other parts don’t exist, however Brooklands was recently featured in a James May special called “Toy Stories” (Season 1, Episode 4) – where he recreated the circuit (on location) using Scalextric slot cars and setting a world record!
But I’ll save you 1000 more words, because this behind the scenes look (below) of the Downton Brooklands episode is a great summary of why the cars from this era are still amazing today!
#spoileralert – because of the way the show was written, you have a premonition that “something bad” is inevitably going to happen at Brooklands. Therefore, as Henry Talbot and best-friend Charles Rogers are entered in the race, with most of the Crawley family, Bertie Pelham and Laura Edmunds as spectators, Charlie Rogers is killed in an accident during the race. At this point, my wife turns to me and says “You’re going to write about this, eh?” – YES m’LADY!
Initially, I figured… meh! – Downton Abbey is going to be some stuffy pre-war British soap/drama, it’ll be just OK, I’ll give it an episode or two. But I found myself rather enamored by all aspects of it. The show has its moments of exaggerated drama and bits of upstairs/downstairs… but each episode is packed and feels like a separate movie and not a serial/episodic story. And much to my surprise – withstanding the urge to spoil the show for anyone that hasn’t seen it yet – it’s more complex than anything I’ve foretold here. The performances by the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) and Isobel Crawley (Penelope Wilton) in my opinion are main reasons to watch the show, oh yea… and the cars, don’t forget about the cars!
Editors Note: to Jess… “He’s nice. He likes cars, and he’s mad about you. I rest my case.” — Tom Branson to Lady Mary about Henry Talbot. Thank You! #neverstoplearning.
I read this originally because I was puzzled as to what vehicle used the seated Bird hood ornament. But I find it all very interesting. My hope is that the car wrecks show were accomplished with remanufactured parts and not with actual vintage pieces. I’m sure to use original things would have been prohibitive.