Compton Wynyates

Compton Wynyates is a country house in Warwickshire, England, a Grade I listed building. The Tudor period house, an example of Tudor architecture, is constructed of red brick and built around a central courtyard. It is castellated and turreted in parts. Following action in the Civil War, half timbered gables were added to replace damaged parts of the building. Today, set in its topiary gardens and green lawns, its appearance of idealized English country life contrasts sharply with the story of the family who have lived there for over five hundred years, a story inextricably linked to the history of the house as both have prospered, declined and prospered simultaneously.

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.

Edmund Compton constructed the house of bricks which have a glowing raspberry colour of striking intensity. Edmund's four-winged house around a central courtyard is recognisable by the thickness of the 4 ft 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—dark brick diapering and decorative mouldings add variety to the façade. Over the entrance the Royal Arms of England are supported by the dragon and greyhound of Henry VII and Henry VIII. The architect or mason builder is unknown.

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