Downton Abbey first hit UK screens in 2010 and ran for 6 series, including Christmas specials, before returning for a trio of films from Universal. As soon as the first series aired, it captivated viewers and even found a global audience. Written by Julien Fellowes, the show follows the day-to-day lives of the Crawley Family, led by Lord and Lady Graham. The show’s storylines were split between the aristocratic Crawleys and their domestic ‘below stairs’ servants. This produced many varied storylines, including those tied to real-world events such as the start of the First World War and the sinking of the Titanic.
Although based on a fictional Yorkshire estate, the real Highclere Castle was used to represent Downton Abbey. Both the series and Highclere inspired the latest addition to the LEGO® Ideas set. You are cordially invited to attend the LEGO Ideas Downton Abbey set review; formal attire is optional.
Product Details
Set Name: Downton Abbet | Set Number: 21373 | Pieces: 4711 | Theme: Ideas
Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: sheet x 1 | Minifigures: The Dowager Countess, Lord Grantham, Lady Grantham, Lady Mary, Lady Edith, Tom Branson, Mr Carson, Mrs Hughes, Mr Bates, Thomas Barrow, Mrs Patmore, Anna Bates & Daisy Parker
RRP: £269.99 / 299.99€ / $349.99 / 499.99AUD / 489.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & LEGO retailers
The Fan Build
The original fan-designed project was built by Sebastian Veselka, aka BRO3. Sebastian was inspired to design a set based on Downton Abbey after watching the series with family, along with an admiration for British TV in general, British architecture and the 1920s. It took around two months for the project to gain 10k support on LEGO Ideas and was then placed in the Parking Lot before finally being approved to become a LEGO set in June, 2025. As with all LEGO Ideas sets, there are a few differences between the original fan model and the final project, but for this set, those changes are minimal.
The Build
The building is split into two levels; yes, there should be three, but more on that later. The lower section is dedicated to the area used by staff and servants and includes three rooms: two larger rooms on each side of the building, and a smaller, very cramped room between them.
The two larger rooms offer the most details, with a kitchen on the left filled with copper pots and pans along with other era-specific equipment. I like how some of the surrounding furniture is attached to the wall; this allows the area to be a little more open and have enough space for other details.
Over on the right-hand side of the building is the servants’ hall. This features a table, which has enough room to seat all the included staff. But the room’s best feature is the iconic bell board. This is a system of bells which can be rung from various rooms around Downton Abbey. They are replicated with a series of pearl gold feather elements and two sticker strips noting the rooms they are connected to.
Between the kitchen and servants’ hall is an extremely small book which represents Mr Carlson’s office. There is just enough room for a desk and chairs, although seating Mr Carlson is a bit of a squeeze.
The upper floor is more open compared to the ground floor, but the rooms are still quite cramped. On the left is a dining room. This plays a key role in the TV series as it’s often the place where both classes of characters are found together. Unfortunately, due to the size of the room, the grand dining table isn’t quite as grand as it should be. Instead, the room includes a much smaller table with room for six characters to be seated. Although it lacks the grandeur of scale, it’s still decorated to offer an air of elegance. This is mostly thanks to the room’s decor, which includes three pictures on the wall, which are unfortunately stickers.
The central area offers a real sitting room. This is a perfect example of how small the rooms are. You’ll notice an extremely odd-looking grandfather clock. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a LEGO version of these antique timepieces built using a 1×1 tile for the clock face. Above the sitting room are the white bricks which appear above the doorway on the exterior of the building as well. Inside, they are used to create an ornate ceiling, which is the perfect spot to display the family coat of arms; yes, it’s another sticker.
The final room is a study, and again this has been vastly scaled down, but the space has been used well and is packed with detail. The walls are clad with book-filled shelves, which act as the backdrop to a small writing desk and sofa. Above a small fireplace is a painting showing some of the set’s missing characters. This, and in fact all of the rooms found on the sides of the building, feature a large plate. This becomes a wall for the interior sections and doubles as a canvas for curtains to be seen from the exterior.
Much of the set’s piece count can be found on the exterior of the building. To achieve the building’s Jacobean and Italianate styles, a lot of brick yellow pieces are used. Unlike similar buildings, the exterior walls are crafted by many small sections. These help to create the required detail, but building them does become tedious. But I must admit the result is worth it. One thing I did find odd was the white section above the doorway. It looks like a mistake, but if you watch clips of Downton, the same section is indeed a lighter shade of masonry compared to the rest of the building. On the real building, the weathering of the brickwork does make it seem not as prominently white.
As well as being based on the fictional Downton Abbey, the set is also based on the real-world location of Highclere Castle. As many have pointed out, the set lacks a third floor. It is a major omission, but overall you can tell the set is meant to be Downton Abbey. Another point of concern has been that the exterior of the set is merely a facade which doesn’t relate to the interior. Both are valid issues; however, the model doesn’t set out to be a 1:1 replica of the building, and it’s already an expensive set. Another floor would certainly result in a far more costly product.
Along with the main house, the set also includes a small piece of scenry which features a bench and cadar tree. This provides and additional space to display minifigures and is also a nod to the TV show’s opening shots, which feature large, looming trees in the grounds. The bench is dubbed Lady Mary’s bench and is often the location for many in-depth chats between characters.
The Minifigures
The set includes 13 minifigures inspired by characters from the show, in particular the sixth series. These are split between the Crawley family and their associates, along with the serving staff. The upstairs folk are Lord and Lady Graham, the formidable Dowager Countess, Violet Crawley. Lady Mary, Lady Edith and Tom Branson. These include a mix of previously used pieces and unique ones. Each of the ladies’ dresses is unique, with them all dressed in formal wear. The gents are both dressed in unique white-tie suits. Most of the heads and hair are reused from previous sets, but Lady Violet has a brand new hairpiece.
The staff includes Mr Carson, Mrs Hughes, Mr Bates, Thomas Barrow, Mrs Patmore, Anna Bates & Daisy Parker. Similar to their high society counterparts, the staff use a mix of previously used parts and newly created ones. The male staff reuse the Cigarette Smoking Man’s torso from The X-Files set. The female staff all use new torsos, and the cooking staff have unique new hairpieces.
You’ll notice as you build the set that all the female characters are wearing skirts/dresses, portrayed with sloped pieces in place of legs. These obviously mean they cannot be seated. So they all have alternative, brick-built lower halves. This solution has been used in other sets, and it’s a great way to enable the characters to be seated. Thankfully, all of the curved plates used for the alternative ‘legs’ are printed.
There are some noticeable omissions from the character line-up, but there are still 13 characters included, and they offer a nice mix of upstairs and downstairs faces. Plus, their outfits are generic enough to be used beyond the set.
The Verdict
As more and more LEGO Ideas sets are released, their size is ever increasing, and Downton Abbey takes the crown as the largest, by piece count, Ideas set. It’s worth noting that this hefty piece count is largely down to an excess of small elements. It’s those elements which give the set its high level of detail and, at certain points, an equal level of boredom. The repetition, making sure you get the right version of an element and straightening them up, can feel a little tedious at times, but the final result is pretty good.
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A lot has been said about the missing third floor, which is understandable. However, it’s already a 4000 plus piece set with a high price point. The addition of another floor would vastly push up the price. Yet in the same breath, those who will inevitably MOC it by combining multiple sets will be paying more via purchasing one or more additional sets anyway. But like many LEGO sets, it’s inspired by a building and is not a 1:1 replica. I understand the complaints, but if you have seen any of Downton Abbey, you’ll be able to tell what the set represents. It may not appeal to everyone, but like many sets based on popular TV shows and films, it’s certainly a set which will have an appeal beyond the usual LEGO fans, although the high price point could put some off.
Welcome to Wayne Manor?
As soon as the set was revealed, fans were quick to compare it to Wayne Manor. Billionaire Bruce Wayne’s family estate has been portrayed in many ways, but it’s Sir Christopher Nolan’s 2025 take on the Caped Crusader’s home which is most like the Downton Abbey building. With a few tweaks and some additional parts, it could easily become the home of Bruce Wayne, and the footprint of the Downton set neatly matches that of the Batman Batcave Shadow Box released in 2023, but has since been retired. So you may not be a Downton fan, but the set could interest fans of Batman. The LEGO Ideas Downton Abbey (Waune Manor) will be available for Insiders from October 1st before it’s genral release on October 4th.
The LEGO Group provided this set to BricksFanz.com for review purposes. The thoughts in this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group, ITV, Universal or Highclere Castle. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of it
