Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey is a British historical period drama television series created by Julian Fellowes and co-produced by Carnival Films and Masterpiece. It first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2010, and on PBS in the United States on 9 January 2011, as part of the Masterpiece Classic anthology. Six series have been made, the sixth airing in the autumn of 2015 in the UK and Ireland. The fifth began airing in the United States on 4 January 2015. On 26 March 2015, the sixth series was confirmed to be the final series, with the final episode airing in the UK on 25 December 2015 on ITV.

The series, set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey, depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era—with the great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy. Such events depicted throughout the series include news of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in the first series; the outbreak of the First World War, the Spanish influenza pandemic, and the Marconi scandal in the second series; the interwar period and the formation of the Irish Free State in the third series; the Teapot Dome scandal in the fourth series; and the United Kingdom general election of 1923, the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, and the Beer Hall Putsch in the fifth series.

Season One

Season One may refer to:

See also

Abbey

An abbey (from Latin abbatia, from Latin abbās, derived from Aramaic abba, "father") is a Catholic, Anglican, or Orthodox Christian monastery or convent. Abbeys usually fall under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.

The term can also refer to a former abbey (for example, Westminster Abbey).

Origins

The formation of monastic communities dates back to pre-Christian times, as witnessed by the Essenes. The earliest known Christian monasteries consisted of groups of huts built near the location of a famous ascetic or other holy person. As these communities of disciples grew, they attracted people who desired to study the ascetic's doctrine and imitate his or her way of life.

In the earliest age of Christian monasticism, the ascetics were accustomed to living alone. Ascetics would typically live near a village church, supporting themselves while also donating their excess food to the poor. Increasing religious fervor and persecution drove them farther away from civilization into solitude. The deserts of Egypt hosted some of the "cells" or huts of these anchorites.

Abbey Series

The Abbey Series of British novels by Elsie J. Oxenham comprises 38 titles which were published between 1914 and 1959. The first title, Girls of the Hamlet Club set the scene for the school aspects of the series, but it is the second title, The Abbey Girls, that introduces The Abbey — almost a character within the series in its own right — a romantic ruin that inspires love for it as a quiet, peaceful place, and creates the wish to behave in the public-spirited tradition of the early Cistercian monks. These qualities go some way towards explaining the popularity of the series.

Elsie Oxenham's Abbey Series

Girls of the Hamlet Club (1914) is set in Miss Macey's school in Wycombe and in the surrounding hamlets and villages. It tells how Cicely Hobart comes to Whiteleaf to be near her maternal grandparents. She has been living in a London suburb, but will now board with an old family servant, and go to school in Wycombe. She finds that the school is split into two sets, the 'real school' and the 'hamlets' who are mainly girls who have come to the school on scholarships, but live in the country hamlets, and cannot afford extras like the clubs, which set high subscriptions to keep them out. Cicely organises the outsiders into The Hamlet Club with a motto 'To be or not to be' from Shakespeare's Hamlet and the Whiteleaf Cross, a local landmark, as their badge. As the club develops, its members learn Morris and Country Dancing, and prepare a May Queen ceremony for Cicely's grandparents. The Hamlet Club comes to the rescue of the school when the leading actors in the school play come down with measles; they sacrifice their secret for the good of the school and Miriam Honor is crowned as the first Queen.

Marquess of Ripon

Marquess of Ripon, in the County of York was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1871 for the Liberal politician George Robinson, 2nd Earl of Ripon. The Robinson family descended from William Robinson (d. 1616), a wealthy York merchant, Lord Mayor and Member of Parliament for York. His grandson Sir William Robinson also represented York in Parliament and served as High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1638. Sir William's elder son Metcalfe Robinson sat as Member of Parliament for York and was created a Baronet in 1660 (see Robinson Baronets). He died childless in 1689 when the baronetcy became extinct. The title was revived in the following year when his nephew William Robinson was created a Baronet, of Newby in the County of York, in the Baronetage of England. Sir William represented both Northallerton and York in Parliament. His eldest son Metcalfe, the second Baronet, only survived him by four days and was succeeded by his younger brother, Tancred, the third Baronet. He was a Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy. This line of the family failed on the death of his younger son, the fifth Baronet, in 1792.