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‘Downton’ Castle Raking in the Dough

HEAVENS!

Don't forget your souvenirs!

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Chris Jackson/Getty,Chris Jackson

How would you like it if your house became a tourist attraction? Lady Carnarvon says it suits her just fine. The self-described "Scottish accountant" is the real-life resident of the castle that acts as the backdrop for PBS’s Downton Abbey. She and her husband, the Eighth Earl of Carnarvon, now charge tourists $27 to visit Highclere Castle, many of whom she describes as "lovely Americans.” The estate costs about $1.5 million a year to run, but it's not that bad: the cost, after all, is offset by the not-so-quiet fans that keep streaming into the serene English fortress.

Read it at The New York Times