See the art inside the real-life Downton Abbey

Highclere Castle, the real-life setting behind Downton Abbey, still holds the paintings and interiors that helped turn the estate into one of television’s most recognizable houses.

The castle’s rooms reflect more than 400 years of British history through their architecture, furnishings and art. Those works remained on the walls while the television series and films were being made, allowing the fictional world of the Crawley family to unfold amid the estate’s actual interiors.

Audiences around the world have followed the aristocratic family’s rise and setbacks on screen. The latest film, “The Grand Finale,” can now be streamed in Norway, renewing attention on the castle that served as Downton Abbey’s alter ego.

Lady Fiona Carnarvon runs Highclere with her husband, Lord George Herbert, the eighth Earl of Carnarvon. “When we began working together and opened Highclere Castle for filming the Downton Abbey television series in 2010, none of us had any idea it would become such a success,” she told Aftenposten Historie.

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When we began working together and opened Highclere Castle for filming the Downton Abbey television series in 2010, none of us had any idea it would become such a success.