100 Best Downton Abbey Quotes For Fans Of The Hit TV Show
Gallery
The series is extremely popular with fans; it is a fictional story set between 1912-1926 in the Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey.
The series showcases the aristocratic Crawley family along with their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era. It highlights the significant events of that era and how they had an effect on their personal lives along with the British social hierarchy.
Perhaps the most famous British TV series of the last decade, 'Downton Abbey' is set in the fictional Yorkshire estate of Downton. Although Hampshire’s Highclere Castle was chosen to be the Crawley family’s main home, the sequel film will include plenty of Yorkshire landmarks for eagle-eyed viewers to spot.
The 'Downton Abbey' movie is not a true story, but it is inspired by real-life events. Writer Julian Fellowes said he needed a central story that would bind everyone together for the film, and he just so happened to be reading about a trip King George took with his wife in 1912 to Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire.
Best Quotes From Downton Abbey
Fans of the show have more than a million reasons for loving 'Downton Abbey'. A primary reason is, of course, the well-defined characters and their impressive quotes and sayings. Here are some of these quotes from 'Downton Abbey' to entertain you.
1. “The nature of life is not permanence, but flux.” - Carson, Season Five, Episode One.
2. “I’m a woman, Mary. I can be as contrary as I choose.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Two, Episode Four.
3. “Good men… They’re not like buses. There won’t be another one round in 10 minutes.” - Anna, Season Three, Episode One.
4. “Seems a pity not to take a chance to end a quarrel. Isn’t it better than to let it fester?” - Isobel Crawley, Season Four, Episode Two.
5. “Nothing in life is sure.” - Mrs. Patmore, Season One, Episode One.
Lady Mary Crawley’s Best Quotes From Downton Abbey
Lady Mary Crawley is one of the most divisive characters on 'Downton Abbey', but no one can deny she gives viewers the best 'Downton Abbey' quotes. Here are some of her most impressive quotes from 'Downton Abbey'.
6. “It’s easy to be generous when you have nothing to lose.” - Lady Mary Crawley, Season One, Episode Five.
7. “Haven’t you heard? I don’t have a heart. Everyone knows that.” - Lady Mary Crawley, Season One, Episode Four.
8. “You know my character, Father. I’d never marry any man that I was told to. I’m stubborn. I wish I wasn’t, but I am.” - Lady Mary Crawley, Season One, Episode Four.
9. “You’re American, you don’t understand these things.” - Lady Mary Crawley, Season One, Episode Two.
10. “All alone with plenty of money and a house in Eton Square. I can’t imagine anything better.” - Lady Mary Crawley, Season One, Episode Five.
11. “I never know which is worse. The sorrow when you hit the bird. Or the shame when you miss it.” - Lady Mary Crawley, 'Downton Abbey' (2019).
The Best Maggie Smith Quotes As The Dowager Countess In Downton Abbey
If life is a series, then probably it could not be better than 'Downton Abbey'. This is the reason that quotes from 'Downton Abbey' still resonate with fans. Read for some of the best Maggie Smith quotes from 'Downton Abbey'.
12. “I don’t dislike him. I just don’t like him. Which is quite different.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Two, Episode Six.
13. “All this unbridled joy has given me quite an appetite.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Two, Episode Seven.
14. “I agree - hope is a tease, designed to prevent us accepting reality” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Five, Episode Four.
15. “Life is a game, where the player must appear ridiculous.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Two, Episode Nine.
16. “Vulgarity is no substitute for wit.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Three, Episode Three.
17. “Never complain, never explain.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Five, Finale.
18. “Every woman goes down the aisle with half the story hidden.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season One, Episode Six.
Edith Crawley’s Best Quotes From Downton Abbey
When it comes to the best quotes from 'Downton Abbey', you can only marvel at two of the most important quotes from Edith Crawley.
19. “How comforting it is that there really are a few good people left in the world.” - Edith Crawley, Season Four, Episode Eight.
20. “I love him. I'd accept him in a trice if it weren't for Marigold.” - Edith Crawley, Season Six, Episode Eight.
More Of The Best Quotes From Downton Abbey
Here are some of the all-time best quotations from 'Downton Abbey'. So, the hit period drama fans, get ready to go to a flashback of your favorite quotes from 'Downton Abbey'.
21. “What simpletons men are.” - Lady Violet Crawley, 'Downton Abbey' (2019).
22. “Downton Abbey is the heart of this community. And you’re keeping it beating.” - Anna Bates, 'Downton Abbey' (2019).
23. “I will love you until the last breath leaves my body.” - Matthew Crawley, Season Three, Episode Six.
24. “Every mountain is unclimbable until someone climbs it. So every ship is unsinkable until it sinks.” - Robert Crawley, Season One, Episode One.
25. “What is a "weekend"?” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season One, Episode Two.
26. “We’re modern folk.” - Bertie Pelham, 'Downton Abbey' (2019).
27. “O, heavens, girl. You’re building a fire, not inventing it.” - Mrs. Hughes, Season One, Episode One.
28. “First electricity, now telephones. Sometimes I feel as if I were living in an H.G. Wells novel.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season One, Episode Seven.
29. “War has a way of distinguishing between the things that matter and the things that don’t.” - Matthew Crawley, Season Two, Episode One.
30. “I’d rather have the right man, than the right wedding.” - Anna, Season Six, Episode Six.
31. “I hope your standards are not so high as to prevent you from remaining in my employment.” - Dowager Countess, Season Five, Episode Six.
32. “In my day, a lady was incapable of feeling physical attraction until she had been instructed to do so by her mama.” - Dowager Countess, Season Five, Episode Three.
33. “Every woman goes down the aisle with half the story hidden.” - Dowager Countess, Season One, Episode Six.
34. “I know several couples who are perfectly happy. Haven’t spoken in years.” - Dowager Countess, Season Six, Episode Three.
35. “A shy royal? Is that an oxymoron?”- Robert Crawley, 'Downton Abbey' (2019).
36. “My dear fellow. We all have chapters we would rather keep unpublished.” - Lord Grantham, Season One, Episode Two.
37. “I have plenty of friends I don’t like.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season One, Episode Two.
38. “A woman of my age can face reality better than most men.” - Dowager Countess, Season Three, Episode Four.
39. “The heart does not exist solely for the purpose to pump blood.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Two, Episode Two.
40. “We must always travel in hope.” - Carson, Season Five, Episode Eight.
41. “You are being tested. You know what they say darling, being tested only makes you stronger.” - Lady Grantham, Season Three, Episode Three.
42. “Sympathy butters no parsnips.” - Mrs. Patmore, Season Five, Episode Three.
43. “There is nothing more ill-bred than trying to steal the affections of one’s dog.” - Lord Grantham, Season Five, Episode Two.
44. “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.”- The Dowager Countess, 'Downton Abbey' (2019).
Downton Abbey Dowager Quotes
We’re still lamenting the loss of 'Downton Abbey'! It’s been over a year since the series finale aired in the United States, but we’re still missing the heck out of our favorite program. Here are the sassiest Dowager Countess quotes for you.
45. "Oh, you know me. Never complain; never explain." - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Five, Finale.
46. "Isobel Crawley: How you hate to be wrong.
Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham: I wouldn't know, I'm not familiar with the sensation." - Season Four, Episode Five.
47. "Principles are like prayers; noble, of course, but awkward at a party." - The Dowager Countess, Season Five, Episode One.
48. "No life appears rewarding if you think too much about it." - The Dowager Countess, Season Four, Episode Eight.
49. “Oh, it is you! I thought it was a man in your clothes.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Five, Episode Six.
50. “No guest should be admitted without the date of their departure settled.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Three, Episode Two.
51. “At my age, one must ration one’s excitement.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Four, Episode One.
52. “Is this an instrument of communication or torture?” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Two, Episode Five.
53. “Do you think I might have a drink? Oh, I’m so sorry – I thought you were a waiter.” - Lady Violet Crawley, Season Three, Episode Two.
54. “Of course it would happen to a foreigner. No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house.” - Lady Grantham, Season One, Episode Three.
55. “I hope you know that really smart people sleep in separate rooms.” - Lady Mary Crawley, Season One, Episode Seven.
56. "Lady Edith Crawley: I said I could drive the tractor.
57. Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham: Edith! You are a Lady. Not Toad of Toad Hall!" - Season Two, Episode Two.
Downtown Abbey At Christmas Quotes
58. “Alas, I am beyond impropriety.” - Count Violet
59. “I look at Mary and all I can see is a tired woman with a tiresome husband. Not a bride on the brink of heaven. I wish I could understand why she goes on with it. Do you think there might be some element I’ve overlooked.” - Lord Grantham
60. “No man can regret loving as I have loved you.” - Mr. Bates
61. “I don’t want my daughter to be married to a man who threatens her with ruin. I want a good man for you. A brave man. Find a cowboy in the middle west and bring him back to shake us up a bit. ”- Lord Grantham
62.“I never could despise you.” - Matthew
63.“I’ve never been special to anyone. I were only ever special to William.” - Daisy
Christmas Special Quotes from Downton Abbey
64. Susan : "But it will be filthy and dirty and the food will be awful and there’ll be no one to talk to for 100 square miles.”
Violet replies: “That sounds like a week with my mother-in-law.”
65. Er, diamond stars and one tiara. - Anna
66. Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham: If reason fails, try force!
67. Thomas Barrow: [upon leaving Downton for new employment] I arrived here as a boy. I leave here as a man.
68. Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham: [referring to the Marquess: He's painted himself into a corner.
Downton Abbey Movie Quotes
69. “If I know anything about royal visits, we will never stop changing clothes.” – Lady Edith
70. “Will you have enough cliches to get you through a banquet?” – Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham
71. “We're not footballs and we don't deserve a kicking.” – Daisy
72. “Royal women are not meant to grin like Cheshire cats” – Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham
73. “Its in the papers, it must be true!” – Tom Branson
74. “A shy royal? Is that an oxymoron?” – Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham
75. “The day has dawned, and the weather proves that God is a Monarchist” -Lady Mary Talbolt
The London Season Quotes from Downton Abbey
76. Mrs. Hughes : Come on - I dare you.
77. Mrs. Hughes : Suppose a bomb goes off, suppose we're hit by a falling star? You can hold my hand, then we'll both go in together.
78. Charles Carson : I think I will hold your hand. It'll make me feel a bit steadier.
79. Mrs. Hughes : You can always hold my hand if you need to feel steady.
80. Mrs. Hughes : And if I did? We're getting on, Mr Carson, you and I. We can afford to live a little.
81. Lady Edith Crawley : I sometimes feel we should make more scenes about things that really matter to us.
A Moorland Holiday Quotes
82. Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham: [to Robert] Why do you always treat me as if I were a salmon who laid my eggs in the gravel and then swam back to the sea?
83. Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham: The presence of strangers is the only guarantee of good behavior.
84. Tom Branson: Not a lot, really, but these will be my last months at Downton, and you have always been my ally. I'd like to feel we were honest with each other. You see, where I grew up, there were quite a few Marigolds.
85. Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham: I think you know what I want to say, what I want you to say.
86. Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham: Oh, my darling. I'm sure I need your forgiveness quite as much as you need mine.
87. Mrs. Hughes: Who knows what the future may hold? Or how much longer we'll even be here? Suppose you want to move away and change your life entirely. You don't want to be stuck with me.
Downton Abbey Finale Quotes
88. Henry: Will you be best friends now?
Mary: Oh, you're such a sentimentalist.
Henry: But will you?
Mary: Never you mind. We're sisters, and sisters have secrets.
89. It's good to be in love, whatever age. - Violet
90. We are very grateful to you, Carson. I hope you know that. Very grateful indeed. For everything. - Robert
91. What a wonderful life we're going to have. - Bertie [to Edith]
92. Tom: We like strong women here.
Best Downton Abbey: A New Era Quotes
93. "There’s only one reason old ladies summon their lawyers." -Rosamund
94. "You shouldn’t be so untrusting." -Violet
95. "You steer ahead. You’re the captain now." -Robert Grantham
96. "I’m happy you’re doing something with your brain again. -Cora
Let’s hope it still works." -Mary
97. "We got through the war. We can get through this." -Violet
98. "The modern world comes to Downton". -Cora Grantham
99. "Marriage is a novel, not a short story.
You have been everything to me. Everything." -Robert
100. "I know. Why can't men paint themselves out of a corner?" - Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham
Main image credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com
Article image credit: JWCohen / Shutterstock.com
We Want Your Photos!
More for You
See All
Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Business Administration specializing in Marketing
Supriya JainBachelor of Commerce, Master of Business Administration specializing in Marketing
As a skilled member of the Kidadl team, Shruti brings extensive experience and expertise in professional content writing. With a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Punjab University and an MBA in Business Administration from IMT Nagpur, Shruti has worked in diverse roles such as sales intern, content writer, executive trainee, and business development consultant. Her exceptional writing skills cover a wide range of areas, including SOP, SEO, B2B/B2C, and academic content.
Disclaimer
1) Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising. We hope you love our recommendations for products and services! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the Buy Now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published but we cannot guarantee that on the time of reading. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content.
2) At Kidadl, we strive to recommend the very best activities and events. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
3) Because we are an educational resource, we have quotes and facts about a range of historical and modern figures. We do not endorse the actions of or rhetoric of all the people included in these collections, but we think they are important for growing minds to learn about under the guidance of parents or guardians.