History of Compton Castle

Expert curated

A distant view of the north front side of Compton Castle, Devon with fields behind — The north front of Compton Castle | © National Trust Images / Andrew Butler

Compton Castle, often described as the last fortified manor house built in Devon, has a history shaped by residents whose influence reached far beyond its walls. From Devon to the royal court, and across the Atlantic to the Americas, their legacy reflects both local power and global ambition.

The castle

The castle dates primarily from the 14th and 15th centuries with additions made in the 16th century. The fortifications are impressive, offering some protection but by this time were as much an indicator of wealth and social status as defensive.

Surrounding the castle are buried remains, probably of an earlier medieval hall, associated fishponds, gardens and orchards. Field names such as ‘Higher Park and ‘Lower Park’ and boundary patterns hint at the original estate including, perhaps, a small deer park with viewpoints levelled into the hillside from which to watch or hunt.

A local family with global ambitions

In the 11th century, the site of Contone, later Compton, was home to the de Pole family. It was given by Alice de Pole, Duchess of Suffolk (c. 1404–75), daughter of the writer Geoffrey Chaucer and wife of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1396–1450), to a relative Peter de Pole (d. 1444) who took the surname of Compton in reference to the property. The Compton’s held the manor for seven generations until Geoffrey Gilbert (c. 1298–1349) of Totnes and owner of nearby Greenway, married Joan Compton (c. 1301–49). Geoffrey built a Great Hall around which the later building developed.

The family were already seafarers and shipowners. Geoffrey’s grandson William (d. 1420) is recorded organising ships sailing to Spain and his great grandson Otho (c. 1418–93) provided ships from the West Country during the 15th century conflicts between England and France. Such service was recognised, and Otho was made Sheriff of Devon in 1475. It was his son, John, who transformed the old manor, adding battlements to the front with two portcullis entrances and a surrounding curtain wall.

By the 16th century the family were well-known and influential with connections to national political and court life and with interests in expanding English influence overseas, colonisation and the spread of Christianity.

Tudor-era portrait of man wearing armour and yellow surcoat — Portrait of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Compton Castle, Devon | © National Trust Images

Sir Humphrey Gilbert

A member of parliament, an intellectual and an able writer and navigator, Sir Humphrey (1537–83) remains the most well-known of the family. He is remembered as a mariner, for his ambitions to find a sea passage to China, North of the American continent (known as the Northwest Passage), for his early role in North American colonisation, and for his military campaigns to suppress rebellion in Ireland.

In 1578, Gilbert received Letters Patent from Queen Elizabeth I. This provided permission to search for, and occupy, lands that were not in possession of a ‘Christian prince or people’. He used his Letters to attract investors supporting five ships which left Plymouth in 1583 for North America with 260 colonists, including masons, carpenters, and blacksmiths, alongside ‘minerall men and refiners.’ On arrival in Newfoundland, a region that European fishing vessels had frequented for nearly a century, his fleet encountered 36 ships of differing nationalities and an existing Indigenous population, but Gilbert claimed the harbour, surrounding land and fishing stations for the Queen.

He then set out with three ships on a reconnaissance trip south towards Sable Island. When one ship was lost and with crew sickening, those on the remaining ships insisted on returning home. Gilbert remained optimistic, anticipating royal support for future voyages. However, on 9th September 1583, in a fierce storm around the Azores, his ship the ‘Squirrel’, with Gilbert on board, was engulfed by the sea and sank with all hands. The squirrel has remained a significant emblem for the family and for Compton Castle, part of the Coat of Arms and appearing on architectural features and furniture.

Although there was little sustained from this expedition, by the 19th century, authors represented Gilbert as a tragic hero, an adventurous figure, and a pioneer of English colonisation. A heavily mythologised version of his death has become attached to the events of that evening.

The project of colonial settlement was continued by his half-brother, Sir Walter Ralegh (1554–1618) and son Raleigh Gilbert (1577–1634) who succeeded to the ownership of Compton. Sir Walter was issued with a royal charter in 1584 which led to the Roanoke expeditions and the first attempts to establish permanent colonies in North America by the English Crown. Raleigh Gilbert was instrumental in establishing the Sagadahoc (Popham) Colony at Sabino Head, on the mouth of the Kennebec River in what is now southern Maine. The colony, located on land populated by the Abenaki, one of the tribes of the Algonquian peoples, lasted from 1607 to 1608.

The ‘West Country Men’

Sir Humphrey Gilbert was part of a group known as ‘The West Country Men’. Others included his half-brothers Sir Walter and Carew Ralegh (later spelt Raleigh), their cousin Richard Grenville, Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins, all of whom were likely to have been visitors to Compton. They advocated for, and were involved with, the colonisation of North America and military action in Ireland, as well as other colonial expansion and attacks on ships of the similarly growing Spanish empire. Their privateering gained them wealth and greatly benefited the funds of the crown. These men formed a close network, investing and participating in each other’s voyages. Their activities helped establish networks that would move goods and ultimately migrants, indentured and enslaved peoples between continents from the 16th century onwards and brought investment into the seaports of Devon.

Transatlantic Travellers

Between 1500 and 1776 approximately 175 Indigenous peoples of Central, South, and North America came to England. Some were emissaries and formal envoys; others were forced captives. Of those brought by Sir Walter Ralegh and his network of contemporaries was a man known as John Provost or John of Trinidado (Trinidad). He is thought to have arrived in England via a voyage to Guiana, either that led by John Whiddon in 1594 or by Ralegh in 1595, and he travelled extensively on English voyages, crossing the Atlantic several times.

John Provost is described as living for many years with Sir John Gilbert (1570–1608), Ralegh’s nephew. This may have been at Compton Castle although perhaps at the nearby family home of Greenway. A second man, name not yet known, is also thought to have lived at Compton while others from the America’s are likely to have visited or lived with other family members.

Inside The Hall at Compton Castle, Devon, showing the fireplace, long table and panelling of oak — Inside The Hall at Compton Castle | © National Trust Images / Francesco Venturi

Restoration

Financing long-distance voyages and military service was expensive. Such commitments may be the reason that the Gilbert family left Compton, probably in the early 18th century. In decline, by 1750 the roof of the Great Hall had collapsed and by 1775 it was being dismantled. In the early 19th century, the castle was owned and sometimes occupied by James Templar II (1748–1813) of Stover near Newton Abbot. In the 19th century, it became a farm, with large barns on each side of the forecourt.

By the end of the century only parts of the eastern service wing were still habitable. The rest was mostly roofless, overgrown with ivy, and derelict when in 1931 Commander Walter Raleigh Gilbert RN (1889–1977) purchased the castle and six acres of land. He and his wife Joan (1908–2001) worked with expert conservation practitioners to restore the castle to the highest standard. Stone from the original building and window fragments were incorporated into new work, and between 1954–6 they rebuilt the Great Hall. The property, including 300 acres of farmland, was gifted to the National Trust in 1951. The family continue to live in the castle, and the displays combine their own collections with those owned by the National Trust.