I've been watching the entire run of Downton Abbey with my wife for the first time, and I'm fascinated by the historical questions it raises, in the setting and in the writing of the different characters. So I have quite a few questions I am hoping I can get answered here. Here's the first:
Question 1: In season two, Downton Abbey, which is real life is Highclere Castle, has been turned into a convalescent hospital for returning injured soldiers from WW1. Did this ever actually happen with manor homes like this during WW1? If so, how prevalent was it?
I don’t know how prevalent it was, but Highclere Castle itself became a hospital under Almina Carnarvon. There’s a nice little documentary called Secrets of Highclere Castle from PBS, can also be found on Netflix.
Yes, while I cannot cite specific examples, many landowners were hit hard by the raising of the land tax from 2% in 1914 to 57% in 1920. Leasing their houses as convalescent homes during the war helped them to fund their estates and the practice could still be seen as honourably "doing one's bit".