Defending the real Downton Abbeys

From a horrific Victorian murder to its role as a royal refuge from Nazi invasion, Newby Hall has known enough genuine drama to make a primetime telly series. And in fact the more you find out about Newby, the more strikingly similar it is to TV’s actual stately star: Downton Abbey. It’s almost spooky. Not only was Newby Hall the seat of the genuine Lord Grantham — his portrait still hangs on the wall — but he left it to a daughter called Lady Mary (just like the series).

But when I meet him, Newby’s owner, Richard Compton — great, great, great, great grandson of the real Lord Grantham — is preoccupied by a very different set of problems than his TV equivalent. He has just become the leader of Britain’s grandest trade union. And his members are a little anxious.

‘The biggest driver of tourism in this country is our heritage,’ says Mr Compton, the newly elected president of the Historic Houses Association. ‘But the last year has been pretty bad for a lot of our members. People might think we’re all toffs with cooks running around, but we’re not.’

Compton, a former publisher, took over the family home with his wife, Lucinda, and three (now grown up) children 15 years ago. In their case, ‘home’ is part of one wing (‘I tell people we live in a three-bed semi — because we do’). He now has a four-year term as front man for a substantial chunk of Britain’s heritage industry. The HHA is not merely a club for Britain’s private stately homeowners; it claims to represent more great piles than the National Trust, English Heritage, Historic Scotland and their Welsh and Northern Irish equivalents put together. Some are well-known tourist attractions. Others open periodically for seasonal tours or weddings.