"The unique memories that Creating Voices will record will bring the layers of history in the Abbey building to life for its visitors and the community to enjoy, " said project manager Dr Oliver Taylor.

BBC: Bath Abbey gathers voices for oral history project

At the same time, the Dean of Westminster, Arthur Stanley, was searching for a famous writer to boost the standing of Westminster Abbey in British life, and Dickens was seen as the ideal candidate to be laid to rest in Poets' Corner.

BBC: The empty grave of Charles Dickens

It details life at the abbey, now a ruin, including tenant dealings, clergy appointments but also an abduction.

BBC: Reading Abbey manuscript

Ms. McGovern, on the other hand, plays the stately Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey, " but in real life, we know she is a proper rock chick, with the guitar, band and leather pants to prove it.

WSJ: Prime Time | Beauty's New HD-Ready Icons

Those needing a temporary escape from the pace of 21st-century life can stay at the abbey for a few days or a whole week, praying with the monks (some guests might decide to skip the first service of the day, at 3:20 in the morning), eating the same vegetarian fare as the monks, and observing the same strict silence at mealtimes.

ECONOMIST: A beautiful and profitable idea

"Downton Abbey" portrays a fairy-tale way of life in which butlers and footmen appear far better dressed than today's billionaires many of whom, after making their fortune, seem to want to be sartorially indistinguishable from the most sloppily dressed adolescent rebel.

WSJ: Theodore Dalrymple on the Secret Appeal of Downton Abbey

The sprawling British estate is where Downton Abbey is shot, the wildly popular PBS series that depicts daily life in a British mansion during the early 20th century.

FORBES: Inside Highclere Castle, The Set And Real-Life Muse For Downton Abbey

Three days later, Abbey National, Britain's sixth-largest bank, said that its life-insurance subsidiaries would pay no bonuses at all this year to many of their customers.

ECONOMIST: European insurers