Wellesley Goes Downton for Elm Bank Fundraiser

A period drama about Wellesley may be a few years off, but some elements of the popular BBC program "Downton Abbey" are coming to Elm Bank next month. 

On Sept. 15, the Mass. Horticultural Society is hosting a "Downton Abbey"-inspired garden party to benefit the Garden to Table program. 

One of the event organizers, Leslie Mann of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty answered a few of Patch's questions about the event by email.

"When people arrive at Elm Bank on the afternoon of September 15, they'll be able to stroll through exquisite gardens, admire a handful of vintage cars and fashions, and watch a cricket game by New England's premier cricket league at 'tea time'," said Mann.

The Hunnewell Carriage House will host a show by the WSO, the silent auction, and guests will be served a traditional British drink, the Pimm's Cup. They can also enter the best hat and best costume contests.

However, Mann says, "Vintage attire is encouraged but not required."

The Wellesley Symphony Orchestra (who are also looking for a few good string players), according to a press release, recently donated two season tickets to the silent auction for the event. 

Mann is a huge fan of the BBC drama set in post-Edwardian England, and says she always wanted to put together an episode with it as a theme.  

"Abigail Fiske, who is on the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's Garden to Table committee spoke with me last spring about putting this idea together as a fundraiser to support the Garden to Table program," Mann told Patch, "and I jumped at the chance."

Tickets are available on the Mass Horticultural Society website. 

Sources say there has not yet been word on an RSVP from the the Dowager Countess.