Henry Compton, 1st Baron Compton (14 July 1544 – 10 December 1589), was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

peer and Member of Parliament. Compton was the posthumous son of Peter Compton of

Compton Wynyates Compton Wynyates is a Tudor country house in Warwickshire, England, a Grade I listed building. The Tudor period house is constructed of red brick and built around a central courtyard. It is castellated and turreted in parts. Following actio ...

and his wife Anne, daughter of

George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, 4th Earl of Waterford, 10th Baron Talbot, KG, KB, PC (c. 1468 – 26 July 1538) was the son of John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, and Lady Catherine Stafford, daughter of the 1st Duke of Buckingham. He ...

, and the grandson of Sir William Compton. He was trained in the law at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

(1563). He succeeded his father in 1544 and was knighted in 1567. He was elected a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

for

Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...

in 1563 and was appointed

High Sheriff of Warwickshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Warwickshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

for 1571–1572. In 1572, he was summoned to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

as Baron Compton, of Compton in the County of Warwick. After his ennoblement, Lord Compton was one of the peers at the trial of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, in 1586. He married, firstly, Frances, daughter of

Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon, KG (151420 June 1561) was the eldest son of George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon, the ex-mistress of Henry VIII. His maternal first cousins included Hen ...

, and Katherine Pole, with whom he had one son. He married, secondly,

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

, daughter of Sir John Spencer and Katherine Kitson, with whom he had a further two sons. Lord Compton died in December 1589, aged 45, and was succeeded in the barony by his son from his first marriage,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, who was created

Earl of Northampton Earl of Northampton is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. Earls of Northampton, First Creation (1071) * Waltheof (d. 1076) * Maud, Queen of Scotland (c.1074–1130/31) *Simon II de Senlis (1103–1153) * Simon II ...

in 1618. A younger son, Thomas, was the third husband of

Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham (née Beaumont; c. 1570 – 19 April 1632) is perhaps best known as the mother of the royal favourite Sir George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. She was the daughter of Anthony Beaumont of Glenfield, Le ...

, mother of the great royal favourite

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...

Notes

References

* * * * Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, 1544 births 1589 deaths Members of Gray's Inn 01 H English MPs 1563–1567 High Sheriffs of Warwickshire 16th-century English nobility Sheriffs of Warwickshire Peers of England created by Elizabeth I {{1563-England-MP-stub