Compton Wynyates, Warwickshire, circa 1925

Compton Wynyates is a country house in Warwickshire, England. The Tudor period house is constructed of red brick and built around a central courtyard. It is castellated and turreted in parts. Following the Civil War, half timbered gables were added to replace the damaged parts of the building. Today, set in its topiary gardens and green lawns, it represents the perfect ideal of the English country house. However, the story of the family who have lived there for over five hundred years is less than idyllic, and their history is perhaps more inextricably linked to the history of their house than that of any other family and mansion in England. The house has prospered, declined and prospered again alongside the family; it has even been wounded in battle alongside its owner. Compton Wynyates, Warwickshire This is an old photograph probably late 1920s. ... Compton Wynyates, Warwickshire This is an old photograph probably late 1920s. ... A detailed map Stratford-upon-Avon Kenilworth Castle Warwickshire (pronounced //, //, or //) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... Holkham Hall, one of the grandest English country houses not only displayed the owners fashionable and cultivated tastes, but was the epicentre of a vast landed estate, providing employment to hundreds The English country house is generally accepted as a large house or mansion, once in the ownership of an... A detailed map Stratford-upon-Avon Kenilworth Castle Warwickshire (pronounced //, //, or //) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... Allegory of the Tudor dynasty (detail), attributed to Lucas de Heere, ca 1572: left to right, Philip II of Spain, Mary, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Elizabeth The Tudor period usually refers to the historical period between 1485 and 1558, especially in relation to the history of England. ... A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. ... Crenellation (or crenelation, also known as castellation) is the name for the distinctive pattern that frames the tops of the walls of many medieval castles, often called battlements. ... Corbelled corner turrets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow. ... The English Civil War consisted of a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) between 1642 and 1651. ... The House of the Seven Gables, Salem, Massachusetts, showing four gables in this view. ... A topiary dinosaur at Epcot Topiary is the art of creating sculptures in the medium of shrubbery, after the Latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener, toparius. ... For other uses, see Lawn (disambiguation). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... Generally, a battle is an instance of combat in warfare between two or more parties wherein each group will seek to defeat the others. ...

The Compton family, who live today in this private house, are recorded as resident on the site as early as 1204. The family continued to live in the manor house here as knights and squires of the county until Sir Edmund Compton (who died circa 1493) decided circa 1481 to build a new family home. // Events February - Byzantine emperor Alexius IV is overthrown in a revolution, and Alexius V is proclaimed emperor. ... Ightham Mote For the London district, see Manor House, London. ... The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... In feudal times a squire was a man-at-arms in the service of a knight, often as his apprentice. ... A county is generally a sub-unit of regional self-government within a sovereign jurisdiction. ... 1493 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Edmund Compton's House

The house Edmund Compton built was constructed of brick; these bricks have a glowing raspberry colour of striking intensity which visibly strike one today as much as they must have done over five centuries ago. Edmund's four-winged house around a central courtyard is recognisable by the thickness of the 4ft deep walls which form the core of the existing mansion. This new fortified house was fully moated, and parts of the moat form a pond in the garden today. There was also a second moat (probably dry) and second drawbridge. However, fortifications were not the only consideration for the new mansion. Patterns in the glowing brick suggest beauty, too, was a consideration of the builder. The architect, if indeed there was such a person, is unknown. Compton Wynyates just seems to have grown of its own accord in the following thirty years. An old brick wall in English bond laid with alternating courses of headers and A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction and sized to be layed with one hand using mortar. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... The moated manor house of Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire, England Moats (also known as a Fosse) were deep and wide water-filled trenches, excavated to provide a barrier against attack upon castle ramparts or other fortifications. ... Drawbridge at the fort of Ponta da Bandeira; Lagos, Portugal A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle, but the term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges. ...

William Compton's House

Edmund died young and, as a consequence, his son William Compton (as was the custom) became a ward of the crown. At the court of Henry VII the eleven-year-old, orphaned William Compton became a page to the two-year-old Prince Henry, thus began a close friendship which continued after the prince succeeded as Henry VIII. As a result of this lifelong friendship, Henry VIII gave William, who was also to become a military hero, many rewards, amongst them the ruinous Fulbroke Castle. Numerous fittings at Fulbroke were bought to embellish the new Compton Wynyates, including the huge bay window full of heraldic glass, which looks into the courtyard from the great hall; also from the castle came many of the mullioned windows with vine-patterned ornamentation. William Compton, 1st Earl of Northampton KG (d. ... In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. ... Throughout the Commonwealth Realms The Crown is an abstract concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government. ... Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), was the founder and first patriarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... Silver groat of Henry VIII, minted c. ... Bay windows in San Francisco, California. ... Heraldry is the science and art of describing of coats-of-arms, also referred to as achievements or armorial bearings. ... A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. ... Mullion, Cornwall is also the name of a village in Cornwall off the Lizard. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

It was at this time (circa 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 houses most famed features. 1515 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sphere symmetry group o. ... A chimney is a system for venting hot gases and smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. ...

In 1574 Compton Wynyates enjoyed a huge stroke of good fortune; its owner Henry, Lord Compton, began work on one of Britain's finest houses, Castle Ashby. The Comptons continued to lavish money on this new mansion for the next century or so; as a consequence, Compton Wynyates has survived almost intact as the perfect Tudor mansion, spared the constant improvements of successive generations. Year 1574 was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Castle Ashby House - Northamptonshire Castle Ashby is the name of an estate village in rural Northamptonshire and also the country house of the same name in the village; historically the village was set up to service the needs of Castle Ashby house—the home of the Marquess of Northampton. ... A century (From the Latin cent, one hundred) is one hundred consecutive years. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

The Priest's Room

If any one room of the many panelled chambers in the house can be singled out for mention it has to be this fascinating room, high in attics of the tower, to the right in the photograph above. The room takes its name from the five consecration crosses crudely carved in the window sill. The small room can be reached by three separate staircases which all terminate there. Legend has it that an Italian priest was hidden here and made his escape. This is surprising as the Comptons were close friends of all the protestant Tudor monarchs, and an Italian priest would have almost certainly been a Roman Catholic; in fact the only Catholic Tudor Queen, Mary I, was the only Tudor monarch the Comptons did not entertain. Why would the Comptons need to build such an elaborate priest hole if they were devout protestants? Would they have risked their royal friendships, wealth and position at court? A mystery unlikely ever to be solved. . ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Queen Mary I of England (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 6 July 1553 (de facto) or 19 July 1553 (de jure) until her death. ... The concealed entrance to a Priest Hole in Partingdale House, Middlesex (to right of drawing) A priest hole is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the principal Middle Ages Roman Catholic houses of England. ...

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 Aragon, the home country of his first Queen. Much later, in 1572 Elizabeth I stayed in the house; In 1617 James I spent a night at the house, he had been a frequent guest on previous occasions at Castle Ashby. In 1629 the King created Lord Compton, Earl of Northampton. Later in the century his successor, Charles I, stayed at the house. The ceiling of the royal bedroom is decorated with the monograms of all the monarchs who have slept here. Capital Zaragoza Official language(s) Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 4th  47,719 km²  9. ... A monarch (see sovereignty) is a type of ruler or head of state. ... January 16 - Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England. ... Elizabeth I redirects here. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I (1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617-1623). ... James VI and I (James Stuart) (June 19, 1566 – March 27, 1625) was King of Scots, King of England, and King of Ireland. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... The title of Marquess of Northampton was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1812 for the Earl of Northampton. ... Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. ... The Chi-Rho, a monogram of the first two letters in the Greek word for Christ E and L embroider for clothes and bedding, for a wife by the initials E L or L E A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or...

An anecdote from the time of the civil war is that the Cromwellian commander of the house took such a liking to the gilded bed of state, slept in by so many monarchs, that he sequestered it for himself. After the restoration of the monarchy, the 3rd Earl recovered the bed, and it too was restored to its rightful place. The sad footnote is that when the family fell upon hard times in 1744, this historic bed was sold for £10 and has never since been traced. An anecdote is a short tale narrating an interesting or amusing biographical incident. ... The Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller at Rhodes under a canopy of estate, on a dais: there is a cushion under his feet Margaret Beaufort, Queen Mother, at prayer, by an anonymous artist, about 1500 Engraving of the Gnadenaltar in the Vierzehnheiligen Basilica, Bad Staffelstein, Bavaria. ...

The Civil War at Compton Wynyates

Spencer, 2nd Earl of Northampton, a Godson of Elizabeth I, was a close friend of Charles I, so it is hardly surprising that the Comptons were strong Royalists during the civil war. At the battle of Edgehill six miles from the house, Spencer and three of his sons fought for the King; the three sons were all knighted for their valour on the battlefield. Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton (1601 - 1643), was the son of William, 1st earl, lord president of the marches, whose father had been created Baron Compton by Elizabeth, and of Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sir John Spencer, lord mayor of London. ... The Godson series, or Dragon chip for its origin, is an architecture of general CPUs developed at CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences). ... Elizabeth I redirects here. ... Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. ... Prince Rupert of the Rhine Cavaliers was the name used by Parliamentarians for the Royalist supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). ... The English Civil War consisted of a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) between 1642 and 1651. ... The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was the first pitched battle of the First English Civil War. ...

The 2nd Earl was killed at the Battle of Hopton Heath in 1643 fighting for his cause in the same battle his son and successor, James 3rd Earl of Northampton, was wounded. The Battle of Hopton Heath, in Staffordshire, was a battle of the First English Civil War, fought on Sunday 19 March 1643 between Parliamentarian forces led by Sir John Gell and Sir William Brereton and a Royalist force under Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton. ... // Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga February 6 - Abel Tasman discovers the Fiji islands. ...

Following the death of the 2nd Earl, his family was vulnerable. On June 12, 1644, Compton Wynyates was besieged by the Cromwellians, and it fell two days later. The Parliamentarians were recorded as having taken 120 prisoners, £5000 (an astronomical sum), 60 horses, 400 sheep, 160 head of cattle, 18 loads of plunder (this would have been the furnishings of the mansion), and six earthen pots of coins recovered from the moat. The house and the adjacent church still bear the scars of the cannon today. // Events February to August - Explorer Abel Tasmans second expedition for the Dutch East India Company maps the north coast of Australia. ... English parliament in front of the king c. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A small cannon on a carriage, Bucharest. ...

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. Bearing in mind the house is a warren of small staircases, passages and almost concealed rooms (as described above one tower room has no less than three staircases hidden behind its panelling), this story could well have been possible. Panelling is a wallcovering constructed from interlocking wooden components. ...

During the night of January 29, 1645, the Comptons made an abortive attempt to recapture their home, however, after four hours fighting they were repelled. The Compton family fled into exile abroad and did not return until the restoration of the monarchy. // Events January 10 - Archbishop Laud executed on Tower Hill, London. ...

Neglect

Following the restoration of the monarchy, the Comptons too were restored to their estates. As Compton Wynyates was now the minor family house, it tended to be the country home of the heir. Minor alterations were made but usually in sympathy to its Tudor origins. The 5th Earl of Northampton circa 1730 added a wing between two towers on the east side of the house in the classical style, which was not in keeping at all. By this time though, the family fortunes were running low and, as a result, Compton Wynyates began to suffer neglect. In 1768 the Comptons found themselves in such penury that the entire contents of the house were sold, never to be recovered. The then Lord Northampton, living at Castle Ashby, ordered Compton Wynyates to be demolished. Fortunately, the family's land-agent ignored the order and merely had the windows bricked up (to avoid the window tax). And so the house was forgotten. King Charles II, the first monarch to rule after the English Restoration. ... An Estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. ... For other uses, see inheritance (disambiguation). ... Classicism door in Olomouc, The Czech Republic Teatr Wielki in Warsaw Church La Madeleine in Paris Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicist seeks to emulate. ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... For the debate surrounding the pre-installation of Microsoft Windows on computers, see Microsoft Windows tax The window tax was a glass tax which was an important social, cultural, and architectural force in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and then Great Britain during the 17th and 18th centuries. ...

Resurrection

In 1835, the 2nd Marquess of Northampton (the family had been elevated from Earls in 1812) visited Compton Wynyates for the first time and found the house in a ruinous state; he made some minor renovations to prevent complete dereliction. He also employed the architect Sir Digby Wyatt to gothicise the out-of-keeping east front and create a new staircase in the house. This work was such a success that the east front today is almost indistinguishable from the earlier facades of the house. | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton (2 January 1790-17 January 1851) was a British nobleman and patron of science and the arts. ... For the overture by Tchaikovsky, see 1812 Overture; For the wars, see War of 1812 (USA - United Kingdom) or Patriotic War of 1812 (France - Russia) For the Siberia Airlines plane crashed over the Black Sea on October 4, 2001, see Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 1812 was a leap year starting... Sir (Matthew) Digby Wyatt (28 July 1820 – 21 May 1877) was a British architect and art historian who became Secretary of the Great Exhibition, Surveyor of the East India Company and the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge. ... Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster, London: Gothic details provided by A.W.N. Pugin The Gothic revival was a European architectural movement with origins in mid-18th century England. ...

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. 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. A topiary dinosaur at Epcot Topiary is the art of creating sculptures in the medium of shrubbery, after the Latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener, toparius. ...

Compton Wynyates 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. A Reign is a period of time a person serves as a monarch or pope. ...

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. 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. Look up Month in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... A chapel is a private church, usually small and often attached to a larger institution such as a college, a hospital, a palace, or a prison. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ...

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. Thus, one of England's most beautiful houses is once again a private family house—the purpose for which it was created. Spencer Spenny Douglas David Compton (born 2 April 1946) is the 7th and current Marquess of Northampton. ...

In 1977, Compton Wynyates served as filming location for Disney's "Candleshoe", with a cast including Helen Hayes, Jodie Foster and David Niven. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a studio backlot or soundstage. ... The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ... Helen Hayes (October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress whose successful and award-winning career spanned almost 70 years. ... Jodie Foster (born November 19, 1962) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, director, and producer. ... David Niven (March 1, 1910 – July 29, 1983) was an Academy Award-winning British actor. ...

External links

• Colour photograph of Compton Wynyates:[1]

• Details of Castle Ashby: [2]