

Upstairs: the wealthy, aristocratic Bellamys. Downstairs: their loyal and lively servants. For nearly 30 years, they share a fashionable townhouse at 165 Eaton Place in London’s posh Belgravia neighborhood, surviving social change, political upheaval, scandals, and the horrors of the First World War.
Upstairs: the wealthy, aristocratic Bellamys. Downstairs: their loyal and lively servants. For nearly 30 years, they share a fashionable townhouse at 165 Eaton Place in London’s posh Belgravia neighborhood, surviving social change, political upheaval, scandals, and the horrors of the First World War.
5.8
Avg Rating
5
Rated Episodes
10.0
Best: S2E1
1.0
Worst: S5E6
The New Man
S2 E1
A Pair of Exiles
S2 E2
Goodwill to All Men
S3 E9
An Old Flame
S5 E6
What the Footman Saw
S3 E10
Goodwill to All Men
S3 E9
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November 1903: Clemence, young and inexperienced, is hired on a trial basis by Lady Marjorie, who decides Clemence is not an appropriate name for someone in service and changes it to Sarah. Being far …
June 1904: An artist, commissioned to paint Lady Marjorie's portrait, takes a shine to Sarah and convinces her to pose for him. The painting, depicting Sarah and her roommate, is a bit racy, and when …
August 1904: Finding themselves alone and having the run of the house, the junior servants indulge in a night of wild partying. When James, the Bellamy's son, show up unexpectedly, the party takes an …
May 1905: When Elizabeth returns home from abroad, her parents plan her debut into society, but the spirited young girl has little interest. She reluctantly agrees, but at the last moment, has a chang…
December 1905: Elizabeth falls for a young German baron, whom her father is suspicious of. Richard quickly uncovers the Baron's secret, but as it turns out, Baron Klaus von Rimmer is hiding another se…
October 1906: Mary, the new housemaid confides in Richard that she's pregnant, the result of an assault by a man who drunkenly forced himself on her. Insisting he must bear responsibility, she reveals…
Summer 1906: Captain Hammond, a handsome young friend of James', graciously agrees to escort Lady Marjorie to the opera. Feeling a strong mutual attraction, they quickly realize how compatible they ar…
April 1907: Believing destiny brought them together, Emily, the scruffy kitchen maid, falls deeply and hopelessly in love with a footman named William. When his mistress, Mrs. Van Groeben, learns abou…
November 1907: Everyone's been concerned about Mrs. Bridges, who's been despondent ever since Emily's suicide, but when they discover she took a baby from his pram when his mother wasn't looking, and …
Autumn 1908: While providing food for the homeless, James and Elizabeth are surprised to run into Sara whose been living on the street. Elizabeth insists on taking her back to Eaton Place where she's …
James is visited by his friend Axel Ryttsen, a Swedish Army captain who lives for taking risks. With him is his valet, the handsome and charismatic Torkel Kraft. There is some scheming going on the ma…
Winter 1908: Elizabeth befriends a bunch of Bohemian-types, but is drawn to two in particular: Evelyn Larkin, a radical Socialist extremist, and her lover, Lawrence Kirbridge, a handsome, free-spirite…
June 1909: Elizabeth and Lawrence Kirbridge have fallen in love and, refusing to conform to society's rules, announce their plan to live together without marriage, resulting in pressure from all sides…
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Kirbridge return from their honeymoon and set up their new household in nearby Greenwich.
Sarah tells James she's having his baby and the Bellamys make provisions to avoid a major scandal.
Things have not improved in the Kirbridge household. It turns out they have yet to consummate their marriage. Lizzie, unaware she's married to a gay man, is miserable and angry, making Lawrence misera…
Elizabeth comes home for Christmas without Lawrence. The Bellamys face another family crisis when it is discovered that Elizabeth is expecting a baby.
There is great excitement among the servants when King Edward VII attends a supper party at Eaton Place. During the evening the arrival of an unexpected visitor creates an emergency below stairs.
Thomas is approached by a blackmailer who claims to have love letters from Lady Marjorie to Captain Hammond.
The brothers of both Richard and Hudson are visiting, causing both men to do things they otherwise would not. For Hudson, it means putting on airs, and for Richard, the visit causes him to snoop, an a…
Elizabeth returns home with her newborn daughter, Lucy, and the very disagreeable and old Nanny Webster, to look after "Baby".
Everyone's nerves are frazzled when Lord Southwold dies, Lady Southwold and her companion, Miss Hodges, spend a some time with Richard and Lady Marjorie and a valuable diamond brooch goes missing.
Elizabeth joins the suffragette movement, but in her effort to protect her, Rose is imprisoned.
The Bellamys are in shock when they learn that Eaton Place, which is part of the Southwold estate, must be sold in order to satisfy the terms of the deceased Lord Southwold's will. Adding to their wor…
Sarah is pregnant with Watkins' baby and Lady Marjorie has run out of patience with both of them.
Elizabeth's affair with Julius is over, James returns to England with his fiancée, Phyllis, and a major event marks the end of an era.
In the spring of 1912, Lady Marjorie prepares to visit Elizabeth in New York and James takes an interest in Richard's comely and respectable new secretary, Miss Forrest.
News of the Titanic disaster arrives at Eaton Place, and the entire household anxiously await word of Lady Marjorie's fate.
James' weekend visit to Somerby Park, with Hudson in tow as his valet, presents an opportunity for both to appreciate their beloved Eaton Place and what they've left behind there.
The race is on downstairs -- who will marry first upstairs -- Captain James or his father, Richard?
Alfred, the former Bellamy footman, is on the run and dupes Rose and uses her kindness as a shield from the law.
Hazel Bellamy assumes her role as mistress of the household with great trepidation and Richard becomes the quarry of a bounty-hunting Austrian woman and her wily and rapacious brother.
Richard Bellamy, who has been in considerable financial distress since the death of Lady Marjorie, finds himself at the center of a insider trading firestorm in his capacity as a member of Parliament.
Hazel's first substantial encounter with fashionable society causes her great humiliation, marital distress and a near-fatal accident, when she and James visit Lord and Lady Newbury at Sommerby Park.
It's Christmas 1913 and two young ladies, one from upstairs and the new parlor maid, conspire to spread holiday cheer to the less fortunate.
A leisurely evening out with his chums, a few beers and some downstairs gossip give Edward a bigger headache than any hangover ever could.
While running an ordinary errand, Rose's life takes an extraordinary turn.
The disparity between James' and Hazel's background is cut wide open when Hazel suffers a miscarriage.
A downstairs dalliance and a happy outing to a seaside resort divert the staff as war looms on the European continent.
In a gesture of goodwill, the Bellamys offer generous hospitality to a family of Belgian refugees and Edward is feeling increased pressure to enlist.
James is home on leave and offers a realistic account of what is really happening on the front and Daisy and Edward announce their engagement to Hudson.
The sinking of the Lusitania has Hudson on a tirade and his anti-German fervor pervade the servants hall. Upstairs, Richard is made Civil Lord of the Admiralty in the newly-formed coalition government…
Edward and Daisy marry before he's sent to France and Georgina becomes a volunteer nurse. Ruby surprises everyone with a surprise announcement.
James yearns for a regimental post at the front and Rose volunteers to become a conductorette as the war rages on.
The reappearance of Gregory Wilmot throws Rose into a tailspin. Lady Prudence butts heads with Helen over a tea party for wounded officers.
Hazel has a little fling with Lt. Jack Dyson, whom she met at the tea party for wounded officers, and is seen by one of her lady acquaintances. James and Georgina meet in France and share a moment of …
Sadly, perhaps inevitably, a double dose of tragic news arrives for those at Eaton Place.
This difficult year finally comes to bumpy close. Helen and Richard meet Mrs. Charles Hamilton who wants Richard to help get her pet project off the ground. Edward is home on leave but all is not well…
Lady Prudence commandeers the Bellamy drawing room for a worthy cause. Another London bombing, another close call, and another tragedy is heaped upon the tattered nerves of those at Eaton Place.
Grasping at straws, the Bellamy family continue to search for any information to indicate James is still alive, but when Trooper Frederick Norton, James' servant, arrives to deliver James' personal be…
Virginia Hamilton returns to Eaton Place, seeking Richard's advice for her son who is facing a court martial. Meanwhile, Edward is scheduled to go back to France, and James is wallowing in self-pity.
Rose receives excellent news, James is depressed about his slow recovery, Richard is courting Virginia, and the Great War is winding down to a victorious conclusion, but there's still one more casualt…
It's June 1919 and a jubilant Victory Parade passes 165 Eaton Place -- but with the new family dynamic, what's to become of the beloved Bellamy townhouse?
As Britain tries to rebound from the war, James Bellamy runs for political office. Edward and Daisy are struggling financially but realize they have friends who love them at Eaton Place.
Georgina and her cohort throw a bacchanal at Eaton Place, with tragic consequences. Miss Treadwell, a governess for the children, joins the household.
When James buys a small airplane, Virginia defies Richard, putting the entire household through quite an ordeal.
Spring 1922: When William goes off to Prep School, Rose gets Alice a new puppy so she won't be lonely, but when Richard and Virginia go on holiday and leave Miss Treadwell in charge, the entire staff …
James and Lady Diana Newbury behave foolishly, with little regard of how it impacts others. Edward is in trouble with Daisy when he's caught in a lie.
Spring is in the air and Hudson has found love, but it comes at a price for the household. In the end, the object of his affection makes a sacrifice for him.
(Audio commentary available on some DVDs). An influential industrialist showers attention on Virginia, and there's another member of the household being courted—Ruby.
The entire household comes together when a General Strike is called throughout Britain in May 1926
On the eve of an important dinner party for a French diplomat, Hudson suffers a heart attack.
Frederick considers his future when he feels his talents are largely wasted in the Bellamy household.
Hudson is back in his element when the Bellamys travel to Scotland for their summer holiday.
After an evening of dissipated behavior and a reckless drive into the countryside, Georgina must appear at a coroner's inquest, when one of the locals is killed.
Better the devil you know than the one you don't is the lesson Mrs. Bridges and Ruby learn after a terrible row. Upstairs, Lord Stockbridge proposes to Georgina, but there's a catch.
James returns to England, with new found vigor and untold wealth, on the eve of the October 1929 stock market crash.
After nearly 30 years, the Bellamy saga ends with the sale of 165 Eaton Place and a fresh beginning for every member of the household.