Warwickshire

than a by–way from Upper Tysoe, and lying beautifully situated and secluded in a thickly wooded dell. Scarcely seen until one comes quite close to it, at first sight it gives m

tional and unique picturesqueness. The old moat which formerly surrounded it has been filled in, with the exception of a p

ation. The property has been in the possession of the Compton family since the reign of King John, and although records are lacking to support the view, it seems possible that it came into the hands of the Comptons at the date

of the Crown, and was brought up with Henry VIII. His association with the latter was destined to bear very material fruit in the way of

a favourite to this King, so that, in the Court, no laymen, abating onely

m his own Royal ensigns and devices, and at the beginning of his reign m

the main of some of the stone, the chimneys, and part of the woodwork-set about building himself a mansion at Compton Wynyates. Tradition asserts that the chimneys were carried from the ruined castle

ollow mouldings of the drip–stone are figures of lizards, other animals, and roses; whilst on each side is the Tudor double rose of York and Lancaster beneath a crown. The left–hand spandril is filled in with a device of Catherine of Aragon formed by the Castle of Castile and the pomegranate of Granada: also a sheaf of arrows, the badge of her mother Isabella. The right–hand spandril contains the portcullis, which was

above. Between two windows on the left of the door is a lion's head carved in stone, which is worth notice, as there is a tradition that on festive occasions it ran with wine, which was supplied from the inside of the

f by an oak screen carved in the linen–fold pattern, and from this a short passage le

ling and plaster ceiling bearing the arms of Compton and Spencer, built

–AVON-THE GR

pring from a richly carved cornice. The roof was apparently brought from some older building and reduced in size to fit i

rel Gallery, with open panel–work, the gallery

et in length and 30 inches in width, which was made to rest on tressels, and in all probability wa

er side is one probably representing the scourging of Christ previous to the Crucifixion; whilst that on the left represents a female figure on a pedestal intended apparently for the Virgin Mary, the stag having reference to the legend of St. Hubert. Within the screen on the left are representations of the seven deadly sins, each mounted on a horse with a small demon behind, urging on the rider. At the head of the procession is a monk, and the figure of the devil is seen stan

ch also were depicted the figures of the builder of the house and his wife and three children, and the family arms. The glass was removed to Balliol College, Oxford, during the period of the Civil War. It is difficult to exactly locate the for

s of the window tax were reduced to the number of thirty, is the private dining–room built in the reign of Elizabeth by William Compton, first Earl of Northampton, ornamented with the a

ern addition to the house, about the year 1738; here too t

nly from 1867, King Charles' room is reached, situated on the north side overlooking the moat. In this room Charles is said to have slep

d panelling over the mantelpiece were brought from Canonbury House, which was the manor–house of Islington, purchased by Sir John Spencer, the father of the first Earl, in 1570. The chapel drawing–room, i

Tudor rose intact, and in others there are portions of the arms of Catherine of Aragon. The ceiling, which is interesting and curious, was probably made in the reign of C

nelling, exhibiting the grain of the wood in a manner impossible where sawn timber is used. In a small chamber adjoining

arch party could be watched by the fugitive in hiding. The secret chamber is about seven feet square, and has two windows and a small fireplace. One of the distinguishing features of the house is the number of its windows and chimneys; a circumstance that made it extremely difficult for searchers to locate any secret hiding–place, even though furnished with both. Few manor–houses have, or at least had, more numerous places of concealment great and small than Compton Wynyates. In the

ere many Popish recusants dwelling in the immediate neighbourhood; a safer and less unostentatious place of worship was scarcely possible. On an elm shelf below the south–west window are, rudely carved, five consecration cros

n Wynyates, and on Thursday, June 6, a detachment of Parliamentarians under Major Bridges appeared before the house and besieged it for three days, when it surr

ermitted to resume possession of the house and estates

ndisturbed, and the ninth earl, who was created a marquis in 1

ural interest, or as a mansion set amid scenery of singular beauty, the place deserves to rank very high ind

utiful and picturesque gardens, maintained all the year round with a car

almost entirely destroyed in the reign of Henry VII. by Sir Edward Belknap; who, then lord of the manor, destroyed the village for the purpose of making enclosures of the lands. He was never punished for this ruthless act, because of the pu

and a romantic interest in its ancient beacon, which stands upon the extr

e looking out westward to the Malvern Hills, and another in a north–easterly direction towards Rugby and High Cross. From the summit of this stunted tower there is on a clear day a wonderful prospect to the south–east, only bounded by Irvinghoe, forty miles distant, where there was another beacon; whilst to the north–east, twenty miles distant, was Bickenhill Beaco

it with worshippers, but is now almost untraceable. The building consists of a chancel, transepts, nave, aisles, and north porch, and at the west end an embattled tower.

t seems more than possible, indeed, that these doorways are survivals of the ancient Norman Church, which the present building superseded. The tower dates from the early

ORD–ON

the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and seventeenth centuries. The unusually fin

ancient courtyard, shaded by yews and gay in summer with hollyhocks and other old–time flowers, it is still a fine specimen of a half–timbered stone mansion of the early p

wners, and relics in the shape of saddlery and arms, said to have been used during the Civil War. At the back of the house is a