The Entire Downton Abbey Timeline Explained

Downton Abbey follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their household staff for six elegant seasons, taking place between 1912 and 1926. The cast is huge, encompassing numerous family members, an extensive "downstairs" crew of servants, and a whole lot of people who marry into the clan. The series places heavy emphasis on British social hierarchies, and features a number of early 20th-century historical events, such as the sinking of the Titanic, World War I, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and the Irish War of Independence. It is mannered, gilt-edged, and posh — but don't let that fool you. Downton Abbey garnered legions of fans for its gripping drama as much as its glorious landscape shots.

The Crawley family, led by Robert, 7th Earl of Grantham and his wife Cora, Countess of Grantham, undergoes massive changes over the course of the series. Its time period is one of major cultural shift, especially in regards to the institutions that give the family their prestige. Pregnancies arrive at the worst possible times. Drugs are planted on innocent people. Beloved family members die abruptly, leaving behind mountains of unfinished business. It's a lot to keep track of, especially in the wake of the 2019 movie. Not to worry: We're here to help you keep meticulous track of the Crawleys and their world with this timeline of the entire series.

Downton's second season begins in 1916 in the middle of the Battle of the Somme. Matthew, Thomas, and footman William are all soldiers in the British army during the war, and Downton itself has been turned into a convalescent hospital for returning soldiers. Isobel, Matthew's mother and a former nurse, trains Sybil, who takes an active role in the running of the hospital. Matthew takes leave and returns to Downton, informing the family that he is engaged to a young woman named Lavinia Swire, leaving Mary devastated.

Matthew, William, and Thomas are all injured and sent home (though Thomas' injury was self-inflicted to get himself out of the trenches). William dies of his injuries, though not without confessing his love for kitchen maid Daisy, who agrees to marry him out of pity in a deathbed ceremony. Matthew is paralyzed from the waist down, calling into question his ability to father children, which destabilizes his engagement to Lavinia. Mary, however, becomes engaged to Robert Carlisle, a newspaper publisher who is holding a scandalous secret over her head. Bates and Anna, a lady's maid, have their budding relationship put on pause by Bates' wife, Vera, from whom Bates is estranged. Irish chauffeur Tom Branson, a man of revolutionary politics, grows closer to Sybil.

Season three covers 1920 to 1921, and begins with Matthew and Mary's wedding. Cora's American family attends the affair, and Robert learns that he's lost a ton of money invested in a Canadian railroad, leaving Downton basically broke. Jealous of her sister's fancy wedding and successful marriage, Edith pursues a much older man, Anthony Strallan, who reciprocates her feelings but knows he's too old for her. Ultimately, Anthony leaves Edith at the altar. She is devastated.

Downstairs, Anna and Bates struggle with his imprisonment, but Anna eventually finds a way to prove Bates' innocence and has him released from jail. O'Brien's nephew Alfred comes to work at Downton, taking on the role of Matthew's valet, a job Thomas wanted, which leads to animosity between O'Brien and Thomas. Another new footman, Jimmy, and a new maid, Ivy, join the ranks downstairs and many flirtations ensue.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, Tom becomes more involved in Irish independence and is wanted by the police. He escapes to Downton with a very pregnant Sybil following shortly behind him. Edith is offered a job writing a regular newspaper column. Matthew accepts Lavinia's father's inheritance and gives it to Robert to save Downton from the railroad debt. As a result, Robert makes Matthew more involved in running the estate.

Mary struggles with grieving Matthew's death and caring for her newborn son, George. But when a letter is found naming Mary as Matthew's sole heir, Violet supports the idea of Mary becoming more involved in running the estate, hoping it will give her a purpose. Tom also joins in the management of Downton, and the two attempt to modernize. Now in 1922, Mary is presented with a number of new suitors, including Lord Gillingham and Charles Blake. She doesn't do much more than flirt.

During a party at Downton, Lord Gillingham's valet Mr. Green rapes Anna while the downstairs staff is upstairs listening to a singer. She tells no one but Mrs. Hughes, out of fear that Bates will murder him and go back to jail, or be put to death.

A number of other romances proliferate in season four. Edith spends the night with Michael Gregson, spurring him into seeking German citizenship so he can divorce his institutionalized wife. Tragically, however, Michael disappears in Germany, murdered by Hitler's Brownshirts. Rose has a scandalous fling with a Black jazz singer named Jack Ross. Tom has a flirtation with new maid Edna, which ends when she attempts to blackmail him into marriage. Then, Tom befriends a teacher named Sarah Bunting, who criticizes the aristocracy much as he once did. That relationship doesn't work out either.

It's 1924, and people are coming and going all over Downton Abbey. New lady's maid Baxter starts working for Cora, though Thomas knows she has previously been convicted of theft. Baxter comes clean before Thomas can rat her out, and Cora puts Thomas on notice. However, he quickly puts himself back in the family's good graces when he rescues Edith from a fire in her room. Edith, finally at peace with Michael Gregson's death but missing  Marigold desperately, had thrown a book into her fireplace, causing the blaze. Her near-death experience makes her resolved to be more involved in Marigold's life, and she becomes her "godmother" and patroness.

Mary agrees to have a sexual relationship with Tony Gillingham, and asks Anna for help in procuring birth control. Bates finds the contraceptive device, and thinks it's for Anna, which angers him — he believes Anna does not want to have children with a murderer. Police arrive and unsurprisingly look at Bates for the murder of Mr. Green. Mary and Tony have a good little fling, but Mary eventually rejects his proposal, much to Violet's chagrin. Cora, feeling neglected by Robert, spends time in London with Mr. Bricker, an art curator. 

The final season of Downton Abbey covers the spring and summer of 1925. The Crawley girls find love amidst the blossoms, though not without going at each other's throats along the way. Edith, who is now running her own magazine, gets together with a nice man named Bertie Pelham, who succeeds a cousin and becomes a Marquess, moving into Brancaster Castle. Knowing that if Edith will outrank her if she marries Bertie, Mary spitefully reveals that Marigold is Edith's biological child. Tom returns from America and calls Mary out on her nasty act, correctly discerning that it's her way of dealing with guilt over having feelings for her suitor, Henry Talbot, a race car driver.

Meanwhile, Anna suffers repeated miscarriages. Mary takes her to the doctor she saw previously, who successfully helped her conceive. Mrs. Hughes and Carson get married, as do Mary and Henry Talbot. Henry and Tom then open a car dealership together.

Downstairs, Mrs. Patmore helps Daisy and new footman Andy move Daisy's father-in-law Mr. Mason onto his new farm. In the meantime, Daisy and Molesley take school exams, with Molesley doing so well that he's offered a teaching position at the school. Upon learning of his illiteracy, Thomas helps Andy learn to read.

Considering how popular the series became, it's not surprising that the whole gang got back together in 2019 to make a film. All of the main cast return to their roles, alongside some new faces who bring plenty of intrigue to the storied estate. The year is now 1927, and King George V and Queen Mary plan to visit Downton on their tour of Yorkshire. This throws the household into a tizzy. Mary begs Carson to come back to work for the visit, much to Thomas' chagrin.

The King and Queen's staff arrive at Downton and pretty much take over the place, effectively kicking out all of the Downton folks who were excited to take part in the historic visit. Violet is upset by Lady Maud Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton), Queen Mary's lady-in-waiting, as she has some kind of secret history with her. Maud's maid Lucy forms a bond with Tom Branson in the meantime. Eventually, Isobel discovers the source of Violet and Maud's quarrel: Maud is leaving her estate to Lucy instead of Robert, despite the fact that he is Maud's closest relative. As it turns out, Lucy is Maud's secret child. Scandal!