Downton Abbey‘s timeline follows the lives of the Crawley family from 1912 to 1928. The series itself spans from 1912 to 1925, and the two movies from 1927 to 1928, which is when Downton Abbey: A New Era is set. In England, these decades were a time of rapid changes in social structures, with the rise of the working class, decline of the aristocracy, and WWI. Over the course of six seasons and two films, Downton Abbey entwines the fictional characters’ stories with the true historical events going on around them both in the UK and the wider world.
The Downton Abbey timeline begins with season 1 in 1912, just after the sinking of the Titanic. Across six seasons, Downton and its residents live through World War I, the Spanish Influenza pandemic, structural economic shifts, and rapid social changes. The successful 2019 Downton Abbey movie takes place shortly after the events of the series, in 1927, and Downton Abbey: A New Era takes the Crawleys into 1928 amid the rise of Hollywood.
Downton Abbey Season 1
1912-1914
Downton Abbeyseason 1 is set right at the sinking of the Titanic on the night between April 14-15, 1912. Both of the male heirs to the Downton Abbey estate are believed to have perished in the disaster, and a distant cousin, Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), becomes the next in line. The memorial service for James and Patrick takes place three months after the sinking of the doomed ship.
The season also sees Albania declare independence from the Ottoman Empire, bringing Kemal Pamuk to England, where Mary becomes attracted to the newcomer. Throughout Downton Abbey season 1’s timeline, war is looming, and the fabric of social life is quickly changing. During these years, the UK saw the Liberal Government (1905-1915) in charge and a rise in movements for equality, such as the Suffragettes, in which Jessica Brown Findlay’s Downton Abbey character, Lady Sybil, takes part.
Downton Abbeyseason 1 ends with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the official start of World War I in August 1914, when Britain declared war on Germany.
Downton Abbey Season 2
1916-1919
Downton Abbey season 2 picks up with the Battle of the Somme, which occurred between July 1 and November 18, 1916. This means there was a two-year gap between the first and second seasons. During this time, the Military Service Act went into effect, and Ireland declared its independence (both in 1916). While the second season starts in 1916, it quickly moves forward to 1917 for the second episode.
The second episode of Downton Abbey season 2 is set in April 1917, when the war is in full swing. The Crawleys decide to convert their estate into a wartime hospital, while several of the men from Downton join the army (including Matthew and footmen William and Thomas). Much of the season moves through the Great War and jumps ahead in time, often from episode to episode, before finally reaching the war’s end in 1918 in episode six.
Just as The Great War ended in November 1918, the Spanish Influenza pandemic took hold, lasting beyond the events of season 2 until 1920. The Downton Abbey season 2 Christmas episode occurred in the winter of 1919, and served as the finale of the show’s sophomore installment.
Downton Abbey Season 3
1920-1921
Downton Abbey season 3 narrows the timeline to just two years and is set between 1920 and 1921. Having come out of the war and the pandemic, the Crawley family contended with losing their fortune due to the Earl’s failed investments in the Grand Trunk Railway in Canada and the Eastern United States, which went bankrupt between 1919 and 1920. In the post-war period, many great estates struggled financially and were sold, a fate which Downton was determined to avoid.
David Lloyd George was the Prime Minister during this time, up until 1922, and two brewing revolutions — Women’s Suffrage and Irish Independence — reached Downton. In the season 3 Christmas special episode, the family spends time at Duneagle Castle before Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens exit and Matthew Crawley’s tragic death. This special covered events from September 1921 until Christmas, and on top of Matthew’s death, it also featured the birth of George Crawley on the same night that Matthew died.
Downton Abbey Season 4
1922-1923
Downton Abbey season 4 also takes place over two years, 1922 and 1923, during which the Conservative Party took over the government, and King George V was still on the throne. This season opens six months after the last episode, with Mary and the whole family still grieving Matthew’s death. As the 1920s get underway, Lady Rose (Lily James) experiences the socially progressive and more racially integrated jazz scene, and Socialist and anti-aristocratic views become more mainstream.
This season deals a lot more with family drama than historical events. Regardless, during those two years, Andrew Bonar Law succeeded David Lloyd George as Prime Minister (followed by Stanley Baldwin), Ireland’s independence was finally recognized, and The North Eastern Railway (NER) merged with the London and North Eastern Railway.
In a special additional episode, Lady Rose is presented at Buckingham Palace in the summer of 1923, which is actually the first time Downton Abbey‘s Crawleys meet King George and Queen Mary. This season ended in July 1923.
Downton Abbey Season 5
1924
Downton Abbey season 5’s timeline covers just one year, 1924, with a one-year gap between seasons 4 and 5. Politically, this was when the Conservatives and Labour Party were jostling for political ground — an ongoing struggle that still represents the UK’s political landscape today. The Downton estate continues to modernize as the younger generation (Mary and Tom Branson) clashes with the older generation (Robert Crawley) about the best way forward.
The second episode occurred during Adolf Hitler’s trial and prison sentencing (February 1924) and the first radio broadcast by a sitting monarch (King George V in April 1924). Outside of these events, this season continues with the show’s focus on the family dynamics and Downton Abbey itself and less on many real-world happenings at the time. The special episode at the end of Downton Abbey season 5 is set during a shooting party in Northumberland in the fall of 1924.
Downton Abbey Season 6
1925
The final season of Downton Abbey, season 6, is set in 1925. Downton is becoming increasingly difficult to run as a private estate, and the threat of bankruptcy looms over the family. The rise of the middle class and growing fluid distinctions between social strata make for many shifts in society. The season starts a few months after season 5 ends, as it is fox hunting season, usually in March or April. The show’s final installment also features the wedding between Elsie Hughes and Charles Carson.
Meanwhile, Tom and Sybbie move back to Downton Abbey. By June 1925, Downton Abbey opened its doors to the people, and in August, Mary Crawley married Henry Taoot. The two-hour Christmas special series finale closes out the main Downton Abbey timeline on New Year’s Eve of 1925. This sees Mary having a new baby with Henry, Edith Crawley marrying Herbert Elham, and Anna Bates having her own baby boy.
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The Downton Abbey Movie
1927
The Downton Abbey movie, released in cinemas in 2019, picks up where the series left off. It is set in 1927, during a fictional yet historically plausible visit by King George V and Queen Mary to Downton. George V was on the throne for the entirety of the Downton Abbey timeline, so it was fitting to include him in the first movie.
As the film ends, Mr. Carson is convinced that the Crawley family will still be in Downton a hundred years from now, though they have no idea what is to come, given the social and political changes the 15 years of the franchise witnessed. The actual date of the movie on the Downton Abbey timeline is July 1927. It takes place over a very short period of time, as an assassin wants to kill the monarch, and the Crawleys find themselves at odds with the royal entourage, including the queen’s lady-in-waiting.
Downton Abbey: A New Era
1928
2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era is set in 1928, nine months after the events of the first Downton Abbey movie. The Crawley family’s story continues, with massive changes to the fates of several main characters. The Crawleys visit France at the invitation of a Marquis after the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley inherits a French Riviera villa. Violet later succumbs to sickness and dies – but not before bequeathing the villa to her granddaughter, Sybbie Branson.
Meanwhile, back home in England, Lady Mary agrees to oversee the production of the silent film The Gambler at the Grantham estate, which covers the costs of much-needed house repairs. This gives Mary a chance to dip her toes into show business and ultimately results in the butler, Thomas Barrow, moving to Hollywood for a promising new life.
The Downton residents and staff also become integral to ensuring that The Gambler gets finished. Downton Abbey: A New Era culminates in a happy ending for Tom Branson, who marries Lucy Smith, Lady Bagshaw’s secret daughter and sole heir to the Bagshaw estate, in a lavish ceremony. With their newborn infant, Tom and Lucy settle in Downton as a new portrait of Violet hangs in the main hall. The final scene occurs at the start of 1928. But this won’t be where the Downton Abbey timeline ends, as the beloved franchise is getting a Downton Abbey 3.
What The Future Holds For The Downton Abbey Franchise
The last season of Downton Abbey may have arrived several years ago, but the franchise continues to have a healthy following, and there’s more to come from Julian Fellowes’ hit period drama. The next project is a third Downton Abbey Movie, which is set to arrive in 2025, three years after the release of 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era. Downton Abbey 3 doesn’t yet have a title, but it is known most of the original cast will be returning, including Paul Giamatti and Dominic West. They’ll also be joined by newcomers Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale, and Arty Froushan.
Unfortunately, Dame Maggie Smith passed away in late 2024. As such, Violet Crawley won’t be in Downton Abbey 3. However, with none of the story for the third Downton Abbey movie yet confirmed, it’s still unclear exactly how the show will give Violet Crawley the fitting end both she and actress Maggie Smith deserve. It has been confirmed by members of the cast and creative team, however, that Downton Abbey 3 will be the final movie in the trilogy. This means that, while Maggie Smith will be missed from the cast, there won’t be much Downton Abbey content she doesn’t appear in.
Downton Abbey 3 isn’t the only possible way for the franchise to return, however. There have long been rumors that a new Downton Abbey season is in the works, and that a possible prequel may be on the cards too. If the speculation is to be believed, the prequel will focus on a younger Violet Crawley, which could also mean it links to The Gilded Age. No details of either project have been confirmed though, so it’s unclear exactly where they’ll fit on the timeline, but it seems clear that there are more stories in the Downton Abbey universe still to come.