Downton Abbey items auctioned before last farewell

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Carnival Film and Television A scene from Downton Abbey. The dowager Countess of Grantham - played by the late Dame Maggie Smith - and Robert, Earl of Grantham - played by Hugh Bonneville are seated in gold-coloured armchairs facing each other. He is wearing a black suit and she is wearing a mushroom-coloured dress, highly decorated with embroidery and beads. Carnival Film and Television

Items worn by the Countess of Grantham - played by the late Dame Maggie Smith - are being sold

With the third and final Downton Abbey film due to hit the big screen in September, fans have a chance to grab a piece of Downton history.

Props, costumes and set pieces from across the series are being auctioned for charity and the lots are on display in a free exhibition in London.

They include the bell wall from the servant's hall, expected to fetch between £5,000 and £7,000, and the family car - a 1925 Sunbeam - estimated at £25,000 to £35,000.

The exhibition at Bonhams in New Bond Street will remain open until bidding closes on 16 September.

Costumes include six wedding dresses and items worn by the late Dame Maggie Smith

The period drama was filmed primarily at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, with the latest film also shot in North Yorkshire.

Locations for the TV series included Bampton, Cogges Manor Farm and Kingston Bagpuize House in Oxfordshire, and Basildon Park in Berkshire.

Bonhams UK group director Charlie Thomas said the Sunbeam was "an iconic vehicle".

"There's a letter rack, ashtrays and even a tiny little sunroof - but it's not a sunroof at all, it's a chimney, because in 1925 everyone was smoking."

Carnival Films A scene from Downton Abbey. Servants - two men and two women - sit at a large wooden table drinking tea from white cups and saucers. On the wall is a large black board covered in brass butler bells on springs, each labelled with the name of a different room in the house. Carnival Films

The bell wall from the servant's hall is among the items being sold

Costumes include six wedding dresses, including Lady Mary's from her marriage to Matthew Crawley in season three.

"The lace, the embroidery and the beading - it's a wonderful example of an extraordinary level of detail," said Mr Thomas.

Items worn by the Countess of Grantham - played by the late Dame Maggie Smith - are also listed.

Carnival Films/Bonhams A montage of two photographs - one shows Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary wearing the wedding dress in the Downton Abbey series. The other is a studio shot of the same dress on a stand. In the first photo, Lady Mary is standing half way up a flight of stairs holding a bunch of lilies. The long straight white dress has long sleeves and a train which is draped down the stairs. Carnival Films/Bonhams

Lady Mary's wedding dress, worn by Michelle Dockery, is one of six wedding dresses in the sale

Reflecting on Downton's global appeal, Dame Penelope Wilton, who played the widowed Isobel Crawley, said: "Julian Fellowes wrote 18 leading characters in all walks of life and it's all about a family, and people recognise that and the relationships in their own lives.

"I think it's the right time to say goodbye - it's best to go up on a high."

Money raised from the auction will go to Together for Short Lives, a charity supporting children with life-limiting conditions and their families.

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