List of Downton Abbey Deaths

This is a list of deaths in the Downton Abbey story. It includes all deaths that drive the plot whether the deceased character was portrayed on screen or only referred to in dialog. The deaths are listed in the order they become known to the television viewer. The Season/episode numbers refer to the original telecast in England.
Downton Abbey is a television series co-produced by Carnival Films and Masterpiece. It was created and principally written by Julian Fellowes. The other writers are Shelagh Stephenson and Tina Pepler. In England the series began airing in 2010; in the United States it first aired in 2011.
Downton Abbey Body Count: 21
# James Crawley, cousin of Robert Crawley
# Patrick Crawley, son of James Crawley
# Kemal Pamuk, Turkish diplomat
# Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
# Unborn son of Robert and Cora Crawley
# Soldier blinded by gas
# Mrs. Bates, mother of John Bates
# Mrs. Mason, mother of William Mason
# Lieutenant friend of Lady Sybil
# Brother of Sarah O'Brien
# Soldier nephew of Mrs. Patmore
# William Mason, second footman
# Major Charles Bryant, father of Ethel Parks' baby boy
# Vera Bates, wife of John Bates
# Lavinia Swire, fiancée of Mathew Crawley
# Reginald “Reggie” Swire, father of Lavinia
# Possible heir No. 1 to Reginald Swire’s estate
# Possible heir No. 2 to Reginald Swire’s estate
# Isadore Levinson, husband of Martha Levinson
# Lady Sybil Branson, third daughter of Robert and Cora Crawley
# Mathew Crawley, husband of Lady Mary and heir to the Downton estate
The Downton Dead in Detail
<table cellpadding=
"1" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
James Crawley, cousin of Robert Crawley
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">     </td>
<td valign="top">The Crawley family learns of the death in Episode One/1.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Presumably drowned in Titanic disaster </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">James Crawley was Robert Crawley's closest male relative and first in line to inherit the Downton estate. The sudden deaths of James and his son Patrick Crawley set the plot of Downton Abbey in motion. The Crawley family must now find a new male heir.</td>
</tr>
<tr><td valign="top"> </td></tr>

<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
Patrick Crawley, son of James Crawley
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Possibly. In Episode Two/6 a character named Major Peter Gordon shows up claiming to be Patrick Crawley. Gordon is portrayed by Trevor White. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">The Crawley family learns of the apparent death in Episode One/1.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Presumably drowned in Titanic disaster</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Patrick was the second in line to inherit the Downton estate; he was engaged to Lady Mary. In Episode Two/6, during World War I, a Canadian officer, claiming to be Patrick, shows up at the Downton Abbey convalescent home. He claims to have survived the sinking of the Titanic but with amnesia. He tells Lady Edith that after the sinking he was brought to Canada and took the name Peter Gordon from a liquor bottle. Physical identification is impossible because his face is bandaged and disfigured, but he knows certain facts about the Crawley family that only an insider would know. Robert believes Peter Gordon is an imposter who gleaned the inside family information from an army buddy who may have worked at Downton Abbey.</td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>

<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
Kemal Pamuk, Turkish diplomat
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Yes, by Theo James</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Episode One/3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Heart attack</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Evelyn Napier, a possible suitor of Lady Mary, visits Downton Abbey with a friend, Mr. Pamuk. Mary is more attracted to Pamuk than to Napier, nevertheless she rebuffs Pamuk's attempt to kiss her. Later that night when Thomas Barrow, the footman, escorts Pamuk to his bedroom, Thomas tries to kiss Pamuk. To move Pamuk's body back to his own bedroom, Lady Mary enlists the help of her mother, Cora, and Anna. Unknown to them, Daisy Robinson, the scullery maid, sees them dragging the body.
(Pamuk is both a sexual harasser and a victim of sexual harassment. He sees nothing wrong with forcing a kiss on Mary, yet when Thomas attempts the same with him, he goes into a rage.)

The Pamuk incident resonates through the first three seasons of Downton Abbey:
<ul>
<li>Thomas' homosexuality (first revealed in Episode One/1) is reiterated by his attempt to kiss Mr. Pamuk.

<li>When Evelyn Napier sees how upset Lady Mary is at the death of Mr. Pamuk the next morning, he realizes there is no point in pursing her further.

<li>A new dimension in the marriage of Cora and Robert is revealed when Cora promises Mary that she will not tell Robert about the Pamuk incident.

<li>In Episodes One/5-7 gossip about Lady Mary and Mr. Pamuk grows. Daisy is prodded by O'Brien to tell what she knows about the incident. Eventually, Daisy tells all to Lady Edith who in turn notifies the Turkish ambassador. Later Carson and Violet learn the truth about the Pamuk incident.

<li>In Episode One/7 Lady Mary learns from Evelyn Napier that it was Edith who originated rumors about her and Mr. Pamuk. Mary confronts Edith about this and gets revenge on Edith by frightening away one of Edith's potential suitors, Sir Anthony Strallan.

<li>In Episode Two/1 Bates tells Anna he wants to marry her. But Bates' wife, Vera shows up at Downton with knowledge of the Pamuk incident. (Vera learned this information from gossip at the household of her employer who is a relative of Robert). Vera threatens to reveal information about the Pamuk affair unless Bates gives her money from his mother's legacy and abandons his plan to marry Anna.

<li>In Episode Two/5 Bates learns that Vera is still intent on revealing details about the Pamuk affair in order to ruin him even though he has paid Vera to divorce him. When Lady Mary learns that the Pamuk affair might be revealed, she asks her influential suitor, Richard Carlisle for help. He manages to lock Vera into a binding contract of confidentiality regarding the Pamuk affair. When Vera realizes what Carlisle has tricked her into, she becomes more adamant about ruining Bates. Meanwhile, Carlisle, now in control of the Pamuk information, feels he has enough power over Mary to force her to marry him.

<li>In Episode Two/9 (Christmas Special One) Lady Mary calls off her engagement to Sir Richard Carlisle even though he threatens to reveal her involvement in the Pamuk affair. Cautiously, Lady Mary tells Mathew about the affair. He is astonished but still wants to marry her.
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (non-fictional figure)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">The death is discussed in Episode One/7.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Assassination by gunshot</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">The Crawley family discusses how the and likely war to follow could affect Downton Abbey. </td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>

<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
Unborn son of Robert and Cora Crawley
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Episode One/7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Miscarriage</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">O'Brien mistakenly comes to believe Cora is going to let her go, so she leaves a bar of soap on the floor near Cora's bathtub hoping she will slip on it. Cora does just that and miscarries. Later it is learned the baby was a boy. The death of Cora's unborn son re-ignites the quest to find a husband for Lady Mary so she can produce a male heir.</td>
</tr>
<tr><td valign="top"> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
Soldier blinded by gas
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Episode Two/1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Suicide</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Both Thomas and Lady Sybil are attracted to a blinded soldier they attend to at the village hospital. Dr. Clarkson informs them and the soldier that he must be sent elsewhere for recuperation in order to make room for new patients. Because of this and perhaps the severity of his injury, the soldier kills himself. The soldier’s tragic death motivates Isobel to suggest to Violet and Cora that Downton be converted into a convalescent home for soldiers because there is a great need for such a facility according to Dr. Clarkson. Violet is against the idea, but Cora says the decision will be hers and Robert’s. At the end of the episode, Robert announces that Downton Abbey will indeed become a convalescent home as the Crawley family’s contribution to the war effort.</td>
</tr>
<tr><td valign="top"> </td></tr>

<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
Mrs. Bates, mother of John Bates
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Yes, by Jane Wenham</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Between Episodes One/7 and Two/1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Unstated</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">In Episode One/6 O'Brien and Thomas try to blame Bates for the theft of a wine bottle, one that was actually stolen by Thomas and witnessed by Bates. Bates admits to Carson, Mrs. Hughes and Anna that in fact he was once a drunk and that he has been in prison for theft, but that he did not steal this wine bottle. (In Episode One/7 Carson finds out that Bates' prison sentence was for the theft of regimental silver). While accompanying Mrs. Patmore to London for cataract surgery, Anna discovers from Bates' mother that Bates' wife Vera was the actual thief of the regimental silver and that Bates took the blame to protect Vera.

In Episode Two/1, Bates goes to London to attend his mother's funeral. This occurs at the same time several male members of the Downton staff are off fighting in the war. The diminished male staff underscores the difficulty Mr. Carson has keeping Downton Abbey running according to his high standards during the war.

Later in Episode Two/1 when Vera discovers that her husband John received a larger than expected inheritance from his recently deceased mother, she goes to Downton Abbey seeking money from him. During this visit she also threatens to reveal information about the Pamuk affair.
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td valign="top"> </td></tr>

<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
Mrs. Mason, mother of William Mason
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Around the end of Season One</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Illness</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">William has endured bullying and humiliation from Thomas for some time. In Episode One/7 the two break into a fight when Thomas ridicules William for mourning his mother so deeply. William's mother was his sole surviving family member. Perhaps Mrs. Mason's death adds urgency to Williams' desire to marry Daisy so he can start a family of his own, now that he has none.
Thomas' insensitivity to William's grief underscores Thomas' meanness. </td>
</tr>
<tr><td valign="top"> </td></tr>

<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
Lieutenant friend of Lady Sybil
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Sybil speaks of the death in Episode Two/1.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">War wounds</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Sybil is despondent over the death of a friend serving as a lieutenant in the war. Isobel suggests she channel her grief into something altruistic, like volunteer nursing. Sybil likes the idea; it's just daring enough to irritate her parents. And, she's likely to find more adventure and excitement in the company of soldiers than she will moping around Downton. Sybil's decision to go into convalescent nursing—one of many rebellious moves she will make—identifies her as the most modern of the Crawley sisters.
In conjunction with her nursing duties, Sybil must learn to drive. She takes lessons from the family chauffeur, Tom Branson, whose presence in the story now begins to expand.</td>
</tr>
<tr><td valign="top"> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
Brother of Sarah O'Brien
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">O'Brien speaks of the death in Episode Two/1.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">War wounds, preceded by shell shock</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">O'Brien recognizes that Robert's new valet who has recently fought in the war, is suffering from shell shock. She knows shell shock symptoms because her own brother suffered from it before dying. O'Brien treats the valet with uncharacteristic kindness. Her normal hostility is preceded by conflicting medical opinions. She gives birth to a girl who is named Sybil ("Sibbie") by the grieving husband, Tom Branson.</td>
</tr>
<tr><td valign="top"> </td></tr>

<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top" colspan="3">
Mathew Crawley, husband of Lady Mary and heir to the Downton estate
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Portrayed on screen?</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Yes, by Dan Stevens</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Episode of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Episode Three/8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Cause of Death:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Car accident</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"> </td>
<td nowrap valign="top">Context:</td>
<td valign="top">   </td>
<td valign="top">Lady Mary and other members of the Crawley family and staff visit the family of Violet's sister in Scotland. While there, Mary goes into labor early and delivers a baby boy at a local hospital. Mathew visits her and the baby there. On his way back to Downton he is killed in a car accident. </td>
</tr>
</table>
The Downton Dead by Category
<table cellpadding=
"1" cellspacing="0">
The numbers indicate the order in which the deaths become known to the television viewer.
Deceased Characters Portrayed On-Screen (10)
3. Kemal Pamuk
6. Soldier blinded by gas
7. Mrs Bates, mother of John Bates
12. William Mason
13. Major Charles Bryant
14. Vera Bates
15. Lavinia Swire
16. Reginald "Reggie" Swire
20. Lady Sybil Branson
21. Mathew Crawley
Deceased Characters Not Portrayed On-Screen (11)
1. James Crawley
2. Patrick Crawley (possibly portrayed on screen)
4. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
5. Unborn son of Robert and Cora
8. Mrs. Mason, mother of William Mason
9. Lieutenant friend of Lady Sybil
10. Brother of Sarah O'Brien
11. Soldier nephew of Mrs. Patmore
17. Possible heir No. 1 to Reginald Swire's estate
18. Possible heir No. 2 to Reginald Swire's estate
19. Isadore Levinson, husband of Martha Levinson
Deceased Characters Associated with World War I (7)
4. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
6. Soldier blinded by gas
9. Lieutenant friend of Lady Sybil
10. Brother of Sarah O'Brien
11. Soldier nephew of Mrs. Patmore
12. William Mason
13. Major Charles Bryant
Other Deceased Characters in Downton Abbey
These minor deceased characters do not appear on screen. Their names are mentioned in conversation but their deaths do not directly affect the plot of Downton Abbey.
* Dr. Reginald Crawley, husband of Isobel Crawley, father of Mathew Crawley
* Mr. Marmaduke Painswick, husband of Rosamund Painswick (Robert's sister)
* Maud, wife of Sir Anthony Strallen (Edith's suitor)
* Husband of Jane Moorsum, maid (Robert's fleeting love interest)
When Television Characters Die
Just like a sudden death in real life, the fictional death of Mathew Crawley in Downton Abbey brought shock and disbelief to the people close to him, that is, millions of television viewers in 200 countries. “A sledgehammer blow," one American newspaper called the death. “A nation reels…” said a British paper. Mathew’s startling death in a car accident occurred only three episodes after the heartbreaking death of Lady Sybil from complications of childbirth. Some viewers, so distraught with the tragic deaths of two beloved characters in a row threatened to stop watching the show altogether. The deaths of Lady Sybil and Mathew may have thrown the whole world into mourning, but death and dying had been a part of the Downton Abbey story all along.
By the time Lady Sybil and Mathew die at the end of Season Three, Downton Abbey viewers had been hit with no less than eight deaths of portrayed characters and another eleven deaths of off-screen characters - a formidable number of deaths for a crime drama let alone a genteel family saga.
In the very first episode of the series, it is the deaths on the Titanic of two (off-screen) characters that launch the main storyline. From that point forward, characters die regularly. Some deaths like those of Kamal Pamuk, the soldier blinded by gas, Lady Sybil’s lieutenant friend and Lavinia Swire take the plot in new directions. Other deaths like O'Brien's brother and Mrs. Patmore’s nephew explain the behavior of living characters; they also anchor the story in historical context.
When chatter on social media spiked after the deaths of Lady Sybil and Mathew, several people connected with the Downton Abbey production found it necessary to speak out on the subject of death in the series. Creator and principal writer, Julian Fellowes explained to The New York Times that in England the maximum allowable length of an acting contract is three years. At the end of their first three-year contract, Jessica Brown Findlay who played Lady Sybil and Dan Stephens who played Mathew were receiving other enticing acting offers. They were reluctant to lock into Downton Abbey for another three years and miss out on these opportunities. Both wanted to make a clean break rather than be written out of the story for a few episodes at a time. Speaking about actors who play family members, Fellowes said, “once they’re not prepared to come back for any episodes at all, then it means death.”
As if to appease the viewers who threatened to stop watching because their favorite characters were being killed off, Gareth Neame, the executive producer of Downton Abbey told a London newspaper in August 2013 that “we have now signed up the main cast members until series five, so there won’t be any more shock exits for a while.”
The death of William Mason (second footman): Thomas Howes, the actor who played William, said in an October 2012 interview that he had been told months in advance that his character would be killed off. “The producers phoned me personally - even before my agent - and told me in January that William was being written out the show. Nobody else knew until September. I suppose I could have been a bit grumpy about it, but the role did me a huge favour. It really got me known and anyway, some actors wait 50 years for a big death bed scene and I got one in my early 20s!”

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