Compton Park House Explained

Compton Park House
Coordinates:51.0704°N -1.9597°W
Location:Compton Chamberlayne, Wiltshire, England
Designation1:Grade I
Designation1 Offname:Compton Park House
Designation1 Date:23 March 1960

Compton Park House (or Compton House) is a Grade I listed manor house in Compton Chamberlayne, Wiltshire, England, about 7miles east of Salisbury.

History

Compton Park House was the seat of the Penruddocke (or Penruddock) family from the mid-16th century until 1930.[1] Much of their initial influence was owed to their patrons, the Earls of Pembroke of nearby Wilton Abbey.[2] They were a notable Royalist family, with Colonel John Penruddock, an owner of the house, being the namesake for the failed 1655 Penruddock uprising against Oliver Cromwell. For this he was tried and executed at Exeter on 16 May 1655.[3] Several other members of the family were local Members of Parliament or High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.[4]

Architecture

The present house may occupy the site of a medieval manor house; Pevsner saw fragments of medieval work.[5] It was refitted internally by Sir Edward Penruddocke in the late 17th century and rebuilt externally in 1780 by Charles Penruddocke. The drawing room from about 1700 has panelling and rich decoration in Grinling Gibbons style, with a plaster ceiling from the same period. In the dining room, part of the 1780 additions, is a plaster ceiling in Adam style.

The stable block dates from the late 18th century. The house has been a Grade I listed building since 1960.

Compton Park

The house is set in parkland, once a medieval deer park, overlooking a lake formed by damming a stream running north into the River Nadder.[2] The park contains a folly in the form of a summer house at 51.0711°N -1.9552°W.

Notable occupants

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1930 . Sale catalogue of Compton Park estate . 13 September 2023 . National Archives.
  2. Web site: Craven . Alex . Wiltshire: Work in progress: Compton Chamberlayne: Introduction . Victoria County History . University of London . 28 April 2016.
  3. Web site: Death Warrant of Colonel John Penruddock . Wiltshire OPC Project . 1 February 2022.
  4. Book: Burke. Bernard. Bernard Burke . 1879 . A genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland . . Harrison . 1258–1259.
  5. Book: Pevsner . Nikolaus . Nikolaus Pevsner . Cherry . Bridget (revision) . 1975 . 1963 . Wiltshire . . 2nd . Harmondsworth . . 0-14-0710-26-4 . 189–190.