Compton Wynyates
| Compton Wynyates | |
|---|---|
 Compton Wynyates, c. 1983 | |
| Location | Compton Wynyates, Warwickshire |
| Coordinates | 52°04′26″N 1°31′07″W / 52.073980°N 1.518650°W |
| Architectural style(s) | Tudor |
| Owner | Marquess of Northampton |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Compton Wynyates |
| Designated | 2 September 1952 |
| Reference no. | 1024349 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Compton Wynyates, Dovecote |
| Designated | 2 September 1952 |
| Reference no. | 1024350 |
  Location of Compton Wynyates in Warwickshire | |
Compton Wynyates is a
were added to replace damaged parts of the building.The Compton family, who still live today in this private house, appear in records as resident on the site as early as 1204. The family continued to live in the manor house as knights and squires of the county until Sir Edmund Compton (who died c. 1493) decided, c. 1481, to build a new family home.[1]
Edmund Compton's house
Edmund Compton constructed the house of
William Compton's house
Edmund died young and, as a consequence, his son
It was at this time (c. 1515) that the great entrance porch, chapel and many of the towers were built. In fact, this was the start of the many additions over the next ten years which were added to the house with no thought of symmetry, height or regularity. The house was simply extended wherever space within the confines of the moat permitted. The brick-fluted and twisted chimneys also date from this time and are one of the house's most notable features.[4]
Unlike many other houses of the period, Compton Wynyates has not been greatly altered over the centuries. This is because in 1574 its owner
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Royal visits
The Comptons, as loyal and rich subjects of the Crown, frequently played host to the reigning sovereign of their time. The frequency with which they entertained state visitors was a barometer of their wealth, and this was an era in which a one-day visit from the monarch could, and frequently did, bankrupt the host.
King Henry VIII stayed many times at Compton Wynyates, and his bedroom window still retains the king's arms in stained glass combined with the arms of
An
Civil War
The 2nd Earl was killed at the Battle of
There is a legend that the widow of the 2nd Earl remained hidden in the attics of the vast house tending to Royalist wounded, undetected by the Cromwellians, until their escape was possible.[7] As the house is a warren of small staircases, passages, and almost concealed rooms – one tower room, the Priest's Room, has three staircases hidden behind its panelling – this story is possible.[8]
During the night of 29 January 1645, the Comptons made an abortive attempt to recapture their home, but were repelled after four hours fighting. The Compton family fled into exile abroad and did not return until the restoration of the monarchy.[7]
Neglect
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Following the
Restoration
In 1835, the
It was the 4th Marquess who had the house fully restored and presented it to his son, the future 5th Marquess, on his marriage in 1884.[9] The 5th Marquess and Marchioness were the first people to reside in the house since 1770. It was this couple who laid out the topiary gardens and made the mansion the comfortable house it is today.[9]
Wynates is the birthplace and burial place of Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, considered to be the second Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.[10]
Today
The house today remains essentially the mansion that Edmund Compton and his son William completed within a thirty-year period during the reigns of the first two Tudor monarchs.
The 6th Marquess of Northampton (1885–1978) cared greatly for the house and spent a few months each year at Compton Wynyates. It was he who installed the electricity and water supplies; however, his principal home always remained Castle Ashby.[9] For a short time the panelled rooms of Compton Wynyates were open to the public: the chapel overlooked by the chapel drawing room, the King's bedroom, the heavily panelled drawing and dining rooms with their moulded plaster ceilings, and works of art, such as the crucifixion by Matteo Balducci, were on limited public display.
On the succession of Spencer, 7th Marquess of Northampton, it was decided that in order for the family to survive the 20th century, Castle Ashby would have to be heavily commercialised. This was achieved and the Marquess and his family returned to make Compton Wynyates their sole country house. However, in the 21st century Castle Ashby was closed to the public (except for occasional weddings), and both houses are now lived in by the family once again.
In 1914, Compton Wynyates served as the inspiration for noted American architect John Russell Pope's design of Branch House in Richmond, Virginia, which was built for the financier John Kerr Branch and his wife.[11]
A dead-end public footpath runs from the village of Upper Tysoe about a mile away, ending at a tall locked gate a few yards short of the estate church, where the walker is instructed to return the way they came. There is no access through to the public road a short distance further on.
Cultural references
Compton Wynyates has occasionally been used as a filming location, including:
See also
Notes
- ^ Compton Wynyates, pp 1–3.
- ^ a b c d Compton Wynyates, p4.
- ^ Compton Wynyates, p5.
- ^ Nicolson, p39.
- ^ a b c Nicolson, p43.
- ^ a b c Nicolson, p41.
- ^ a b c Compton Wynyates, p6.
- ^ Nicolson, p43, describes the three starircases to one room.
- ^ a b c d e f Compton Wynyates, p8.
- ^ CompODNB.
- ^ "Architect's Showplace". Traditional-building.com, April 2006.
- ^ "Carry On Camping filming location", British-Film-Locations.com
References
- ISBN 0-586-05604-1.
- A History of the County of Warwick, Volume 5 (1949) pp 60–67 from British History Online
- Compton Wynyates – An anonymously written guide book. Published by the Marquess of Northampton c. 1968, during the short period that the house was open to the public.
External links
