Shield of arms of William Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton, KG

William George Spencer Scott Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton, KG (23 April 1851 – 15 June 1913), known as Lord William Compton from 1877 to 1887 and as Earl Compton from 1887 to 1897, was a British

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a ne ...

and Liberal politician.

Early life

Northampton was born at

Castle Ashby Castle Ashby is the name of a civil parish, an estate village and an English country house in rural Northamptonshire. Historically the village was set up to service the needs of Castle Ashby House, the seat of the Marquess of Northampton. The v ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

, the second son of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

William Compton, 4th Marquess of Northampton Admiral William Compton, 4th Marquess of Northampton, (20 August 1818 – 11 September 1897), known as Lord William Compton from 1828 to 1877, was a British peer and Royal Navy officer. Biography Northampton was born at York Place, Marylebon ...

, and his wife Eliza (née Elliot). His paternal grandparents were Spencer Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton and the former Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane. His maternal grandparents were Adm. The Hon. Sir George Elliot (second son of

Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, (; 23 April 175121 June 1814), known as Sir Gilbert Elliott, 4th Baronet until 1797, and The Lord Minto from 1797 to 1814, was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Comm ...

) and Eliza Cecilia Ness (youngest daughter of James Ness of Osgodby). He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated as

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

He received the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...

of Earl Compton in 1887 on the death of his elder brother.

Diplomatic and political career

He served in the Diplomatic Service as Second Secretary to the British embassies in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. He then served as Private Secretary to the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...

, the

Earl Cowper Earl Cowper ( ) was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1718 by George I for William Cowper, 1st Baron Cowper, his first Lord Chancellor, with remainder in default of male issue of his own to his younger brother, Spencer ...

, between 1880 and 1882, and was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

for Stratford-on-Avon in December 1885. He held this seat until July the following year and then sat for

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough ha ...

from 1889 to 1897. In the latter year Northampton succeeded his father in the marquessate and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

. Northampton, who was a major landowner in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redis ...

and north

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, was elected a founder member of

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

for

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

in 1889, then served as County Alderman from 1892 to 1895. He was J.P. for the counties of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire. Northampton was President of the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The So ...

in 1902, and since this was a coronation year he presented the Coronation Bible to King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

. From 1908 he was Honorary Colonel of the London Heavy Brigade of the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (R ...

. He was later Special Envoy to Foreign Courts to announce the accession of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

in 1910 and served as

Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire. Since 1728, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Warwickshire. Lord Lieutenants of Warwickshire *Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick 1569� ...

from 1912 to 1913. He was made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1908 and was also a Knight of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

Personal life

Lord William Compton married, in 1884, the Hon. Mary Florence Baring, daughter and heiress of William Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton, and his wife, Louisa, Lady Ashburton. They had three children, including: * William Bingham Compton, 6th Marquess of Northampton (1885–1978), who married Lady Emma Margery Thynne, second daughter of

Thomas Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath Thomas Henry Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath (15 July 1862 – 9 June 1946), styled Viscount Weymouth until 1896, was a British landowner and Conservative politician. He held ministerial office as Under-Secretary of State for India in 1905 an ...

in 1921. They divorced in 1942 and he married Virginia Lucie Heaton, third daughter of Capt. David Rimington Heaton in 1942. They divorced in 1958 and he married Elspeth Grace Roper-Curzon (former wife of Christopher Roper-Curzon, 19th Baron Teynham), eldest daughter of William Ingham Whitaker of

Pylewell Park Pylewell Park is a country house and park near Lymington in Hampshire. It is listed as grade II*. History A settlement on the site of Baddesley Manor, to the North of the current house, is mentioned in the Domesday Book Domesday Book () ...

, in 1958. * Lady Margaret Louisa Lizzie Compton (1886–1970), who married

Edward Loch, 2nd Baron Loch Major-General Edward Douglas Loch, 2nd Baron Loch (4 April 1873 – 14 August 1942) was a senior British Army officer and peer. After serving in Cape Colonial Forces in South Africa he joined the Grenadier Guards in 1893. He first saw active s ...

, in 1905. * Lt. Lord Spencer Douglas Compton (1893–1915), who died unmarried. Lady Northampton died at Castle Ashby on 1 June 1902, aged 41, following a long illness from progressive paralysis. Lord Northampton survived her by eleven years and died, suddenly, at

Acqui Acqui Terme (; pms, Àich ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is about south-southwest of Alessandria. It is one of the principal winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'A ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, in June 1913, aged 62. He was buried at Castle Ashby, and succeeded in his titles by his eldest son,

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 ...

References

Sources

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Northampton, William Compton, 5th Marquess of 1851 births 1913 deaths Garter Knights appointed by Edward VII Lord-Lieutenants of Warwickshire Compton, William Compton, Earl Compton, William, Lord Compton, William Compton, Earl Compton, William Compton, Earl Compton, William Compton, Earl UK MPs who inherited peerages

Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of London County Council Progressive Party (London) politicians Marquesses of Northampton (1812 creation) People educated at Eton College