The trials and tribulations of the fictional Grantham family and their loyal servants on TV drama has provided a fascinating glimpse into life in a big country house in days gone by

Downton Abbey has not only made enthralling viewing for millions of people, it has even inspired one woman to explore her ancestral heritage.

Elaine Ashton, 55, said the smash-hit ITV drama prompted her to learn more about her grandfather William Titlow, who was a butler for the Savile household from 1925 to 1938 at Rufford Abbey in north Nottinghamshire.

He was held in warm regard and Lady Savile was a godparent to his son Peter.

Ashton, from Sheil Street, in Worsley, said: “The Downton Abbey series helped to get me thinking about my grandfather and what his job entailed as he had been a butler. I was only quite a young girl when he retired and now I wish I had talked to him and my grandmother (she was a cook) more, but you do not realise when you are young.

“I was already interested in finding out more about my ancestral heritage, and the programme gave me added inspiration to get in touch with Rufford Abbey earlier this year.

Historians at Nottinghamshire County Council think this year’s Christmas special of Downton Abbey could see even more people coming to them looking to find out more about their relatives.

They have so far received inquiries about footmen, maids and even a gamekeeper employed at the once stately home of Rufford Abbey which, although now a ruin, still attracts more than 400,000 visitors a year as a country park.

County council historian Paul Norton was able to confirm for Ashton that the late William Titlow was indeed a butler at Rufford and that her father Peter was born in February 1929, and baptised in the Chapel at Rufford Abbey.

Her father, who is now in his 80s and also lives in Worsley, remembers Lady Savile was his godparent.

A copy of the baptism entry was sent to the family which indicated that William’s family lived in Blackwalk Cottage which is still there. (PA)