Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
10 questions No timer
126 free Downton Abbey trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free Downton Abbey trivia questions with answers. Are you a true Downton Abbey fan? Put your knowledge of the beloved period drama to the test with our comprehensive trivia quiz. From the Crawley family drama to the servant quarters scheming, discover just how well you really know this Emmy-winning series.
30 of 126 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01For which country-house film had the series' creator already won a screenplay Oscar?
Gosford Park
Gosford Park (2001) won its writer the Best Original Screenplay Oscar; Downton Abbey was first conceived as a spin-off of that film before becoming a stand-alone drama set a generation earlier.
Q 02In which English county is the fictional Downton Abbey estate primarily set?
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is home to the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants; the fictional village of Downton lies near the real market town of Ripon, which characters visit throughout the series.
Q 03In what year did 'Downton Abbey' first air in the United Kingdom?
2010
The first series of 'Downton Abbey' premiered in the United Kingdom on ITV on September 26, 2010.
Q 04Before becoming the heir presumptive to Downton Abbey, what was Matthew Crawley's profession?
Solicitor
Matthew Crawley was a middle-class solicitor from Manchester before he was informed that he was the new heir to the Earl of Grantham's estate.
Q 05Which Crawley daughter ends up a journalist?
Lady Edith
Lady Edith begins with a published letter to The Times on women's votes, then writes a column for The Sketch and later inherits the magazine's publishing company.
Q 06The series' inheritance plot turns on which legal device passing title and estate only to male heirs?
An entail
An entail ties Downton to the earldom and passes estate and title only to the male heir, so Robert cannot leave it to his daughters and distant cousin Matthew Crawley inherits.
Q 07Which real-world disaster sets the first season of Downton Abbey in motion?
The sinking of the RMS Titanic
The sinking of the RMS Titanic kills James Crawley, the heir presumptive, and his son Patrick, pushing the estate toward distant middle-class cousin Matthew.
Q 08Which actor plays the butler, Mr Carson?
Jim Carter
Jim Carter plays the butler Carson, a former music-hall performer, a past the upright Carson is deeply embarrassed by when his old stage partner Grigg resurfaces.
Q 09Which actress portrays the sharp-witted Dowager Countess Violet Crawley?
Maggie Smith
Dame Maggie Smith is renowned for her portrayal of Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, known for her memorable one-liners and traditional views.
Q 10After actress Phyllis Logan's audition, the Downton housekeeper was rewritten as which nationality?
Scottish
Casting directors liked Logan's accent so much they turned the character into a Scot.
Q 11Who is the creator and main writer of the Downton Abbey series?
Julian Fellowes
Julian Fellowes created, wrote, and executive produced the acclaimed television series Downton Abbey.
Q 12Which character rises from first footman to under-butler and finally succeeds Carson as butler?
Thomas Barrow
Thomas Barrow succeeds Carson as butler, with Carson staying on in a supervisory role.
Q 13After his cousin Peter dies of malaria in Tangiers, Bertie Pelham unexpectedly inherits which title?
Marquess of Hexham
Bertie Pelham becomes Marquess of Hexham when his cousin Peter dies of malaria in Tangiers; a marquess outranks an earl, so Edith will outrank her own parents.
Q 21Which major historical conflict features prominently in the second season of Downton Abbey?
World War I
Series two runs from the Battle of the Somme in 1916 to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, with the house itself pressed into wartime service.
Q 22Who becomes Lady Rose MacClare's husband?
Atticus Aldridge
Atticus Aldridge marries Rose in series five; he is the son and heir of Daniel Aldridge, Baron Sinderby, a wealthy banker whose family came to Britain from Russia.
Q 23Which member of the downstairs staff marries Mr. Carson?
Mrs. Hughes
Mrs. Hughes, the housekeeper, accepts Carson's proposal at the end of the 2014 Christmas special that closes series five, and the two marry in series six.
Q 14Bates served alongside Lord Grantham as his batman in which conflict?
The Boer War
John Bates was Lord Grantham's batman in the Boer War, where a leg wound left him with the limp and cane he arrives at Downton with in series one.
Q 15Exterior shots of the village of Downton were filmed in which real English village?
Bampton
Bampton in Oxfordshire supplied the village scenes, its St Mary's Church standing in for St Michael and All Angels in the show.
Q 16What is the name of the cook at Downton Abbey, known for her strong personality?
Mrs. Patmore
Mrs. Beryl Patmore is the head cook at Downton Abbey, a formidable but ultimately caring figure in the downstairs staff.
Q 17How does Lady Mary's first husband die on the very day their son George is born?
A car crash
Matthew Crawley dies in a car crash driving home from the hospital after meeting his newborn son George; the actor playing him had chosen to leave the series.
Q 18Which of the Crawley daughters elopes with the family chauffeur?
Lady Sybil
Lady Sybil served as an auxiliary nurse during the war before marrying Tom Branson and moving to Dublin.
Q 19Who is hired as Cora's lady's maid after Edna Braithwaite departs?
Phyllis Baxter
Phyllis Baxter, brought in by Thomas Barrow, has a prison record for theft that he holds over her, yet she later helps pull him back after his suicide attempt.
Q 20Which housemaid dreams of becoming a secretary and eventually leaves service to pursue it?
Gwen Dawson
With the youngest Crawley daughter's help she wins a job at a telephone firm in August 1914, and returns in series six as a successful woman working in government.
Q 24Which actress plays Daisy, who rises from the scullery to assistant cook?
Sophie McShera
Sophie McShera plays Daisy, who starts as the scullery maid in series one, becomes kitchen maid and then assistant cook under Mrs Patmore.
Q 25Which doctor attends the Crawley family and the village throughout all six series?
Dr Clarkson
Dr Clarkson, played by David Robb, is the village doctor from series one onward; in series two he treats Matthew's spinal injury and judges, wrongly, that he will never walk again.
Q 26Where in London does Lady Rosamund Painswick keep her house?
Belgrave Square
Robert's widowed sister Rosamund lives at 35 Belgrave Square, and the younger Crawleys use the house as a base when in town.
Q 27In Downton Abbey, Cora miscarries after slipping on what item, left deliberately on the bathroom floor by her lady's maid?
A bar of soap
A bar of soap, placed out of spite by a maid who wrongly believed she was about to be replaced; Bates later whispers 'her ladyship's soap' to keep her in line.
Q 28At the end of series three, Tom Branson takes which estate job at Violet's suggestion?
Land agent
Violet points out that he grew up on a farm at Bray, and he goes on to modernise the estate alongside Matthew.
Q 29Which character is Matthew's widowed mother?
Isobel Crawley
Isobel Crawley is Matthew Crawley's mother and a strong advocate for social reform and local causes.
Q 30On which day is the Bateses' son born during the series finale?
New Year's Eve
Anna Bates gives birth to a son on New Year's Eve in the series finale; her waters break in Lady Mary's bedroom after Edith's wedding, and Mary insists she have the baby there.