It is enough to make a butler lose his composure. For Downton Abbey has been accused of basic etiquette errors – by the lady of the house.

《唐顿庄园》因在最基本礼仪方面犯错而受到批评，这件事足以让男管家卡森先生无法镇定吧！而批评者正是取景地的真正女主人。

The Countess of Carnarvon, the mistress of Highclere Castle where the series is filmed, has criticised the ITV1 drama’s repeated faux pas.

《唐顿庄园》拍摄于海克利尔城堡，城堡女主人卡那封郡伯爵夫人日前批评这部ITV1电视剧，说剧中相似错误层出不穷。

Among them, says Lady Carnarvon – who writes a blog in which she reveals how a stately home should really be run – are the incorrect setting of the table for dinner and the lack of servants.

卡那封夫人有一个博客，专门写名门贵族家庭的正确生活方式。博客中指出《唐顿庄园》所犯的错误，其中就包括正餐餐具摆放错误、仆人数量过少等问题。

‘It’s the little details,’ she says. ‘Glasses are back to front and things are set wrong. Setting up the table is an art. Knives, forks and spoons are set from the outside in, beginning with the bread knife and working through each course to cheese.

她说：“那些都是细枝末节的错误，比如说酒杯是从后往前放的。但摆放餐具是门艺术。刀子、叉子和勺子”要从外向内放好，首先是面包刀，然后一按照上菜顺序一次摆放，是奶酪。”

‘A pat of butter is impressed with the intertwined Cs and coronet and placed in front of each guest. The wine glasses and water tumbler are arranged to the top right of each setting. Downton prefer a different arrangement.’

“小块黄油要做成扭曲的C形和皇冠状，再端到每位客人面前。酒杯和水杯要放到右上角的位置。但《唐顿庄园》似乎更喜欢不符常规的摆放方式。”

‘I don’t want to step on people’s toes so I’ve tried a few times to say, “Do you know you’re setting the table wrong?” I do feel, after all, that it’s my dining table and obviously we wouldn’t set it like that.’

“我不想触怒他人，所以我好几次都试着说：‘你们知道餐具摆错了吗？’ 毕竟那是我的餐桌，而且很显然我们不会那样放餐具。”

‘They look at me blankly and I sort of try once more and then I give up… and now I try not to look because it’s easier.’

“他们会茫然地看看我，尝试着再摆一次，然后我只得放弃不管了……现在我尽量不去看餐桌，因为这样更简单些。”

Other tips from Lady Carnarvon, whose husband the 8th Earl of Carnarvon owns Highclere, near Newbury in Berkshire, include butlers wearing white gloves to keep fingerprints off the glasses.

海克利尔城堡位于伯克郡纽伯里附近，卡那封夫人的丈夫是这座城堡的现任主人第八代伯爵。她还给我们别的建议，其中包括男管家要戴白手套，以防指纹弄脏玻璃杯。

She has previously said a stately home of Downton Abbey’s size would, in the early 20th century when the programme is set, have had up to 60 domestic staff. At the end of the third series, the fictional Crawley family had only about a dozen servants.

她之前还说过，电视剧设定场景是20世纪初期，那时像唐顿庄园一样大的名门望族至少要有60名佣人。而在第三季结尾时，虚构的克劳利家族大概只有十几个仆人。

Her observations will delight the small group of Downton fans that takes to the internet after each episode to point out anachronisms.

卡那封夫人的评论一定会让一小部分《唐顿庄园》的粉丝欣喜欲狂，这些人干的事儿就是在每集电视剧播出后到网上说剧中犯了哪些年代错误。

A spokeswoman for Carnival Films said: 'The team behind Downton Abbey applies the highest production values and the programme's historical advisor is on hand at all times to ensure that all elements of the production - including the set design, costumes and any props used - are as authentic as possible and in keeping with what was considered appropriate at the time.

嘉年华电影公司女发言人则表示：“《唐顿庄园》的幕后制作团队追求最真实的制片效果，剧组还聘请历史顾问随时指导，以确保剧中布景、服装、道具等所有元素都尽量接近真实历史，符合那个时代的思想与潮流。”

'As the drama is a fictional series, the two footmen depicted are representative of a larger number of staff that would have existed at the time.'

“因为这是一部虚构连续剧，出现在屏幕上的两个男仆就已代表那个时代众多的仆人。”