By Amelia Fortunato, Alvernia Community News Lab
Photo Courtesy of Amelia Fortunato
“Downton Abbey” is a wildly successful British television series that garnered a passionate fanbase since first airing in 2010. The show is known for is its impressive costumes. The series takes place in the early 20th century, and the costumes are reflective of the time period. The Reading Public Museum recently opened an exhibit with costumes from “Downton Abbey” featuring 36 original costumes including an evening gown worn by Shirley MacLaine as Martha Levinson and pajamas worn by Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley. The exhibit opened on September 27, 2025, and runs through January 18, 2026.
The show aired from 2010 to 2015, and follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants. Julian Fellowes created it. During its time, “Downton Abbey” garnered a large group of fans and was the most-viewed drama on PBS. While the show ended in 2015, there have been three films released after that, continuing the story of the Crawley family. The most recent film was released in September 2025. The title of the film is “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” and is the final movie in the “Downton Abbey” film trilogy, marking the end of the story.
The show featured cast members Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham, Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith Crawley, Jim Carter as Charles Carson, and Brendan Coyle as John Bates among others. According to the Television Academy website, the first season of “Downton Abbey” was the highest-rated show in the history of PBS.
Over the years, the show has received 69 Emmy nominations, of which it won 15. This impressive amount of both nominations and wins further demonstrates the wild success of the show.
According to Hannah Katein, an employee at the Reading Public Museum, this isn’t the first time the museum has had a “Downton Abbey” related exhibit and she noted that the reaction of the exhibit has been very positive. “People have really liked it,” she said. This exhibit is clearly a popular draw and a great reason to visit Reading Public Museum.
