Charles Douglas-Compton, 3rd Marquess of Northampton, DL (26 May 1816 – 3 March 1877), styled Earl Compton from birth until 1851, was a British peer.

Early life

Born Charles Compton at Parliament Street,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, he was the son of

Spencer Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton (2 January 1790 – 17 January 1851), known as Lord Compton from 1796 to 1812 and as Earl Compton from 1812 to 1828, was a British nobleman and patron of science and the arts. Life The ...

and his wife Margaret, eldest daughter of William Douglas-Maclean-Clephane. In 1831, a year after the death of his mother, he assumed the additional surname Douglas by

sign manual The royal sign-manual is the signature of the sovereign, by the affixing of which the monarch expresses their pleasure either by order, commission, or warrant. A sign-manual warrant may be either an executive act (for example, an appointment to ...

. Douglas-Compton succeeded his father as marquess in 1851. He was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 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 ...

, where he graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1837. In 1850, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Career

Douglas-Compton was appointed a deputy lieutenant for

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area now forms part of ...

in 1841. He was a trustee of the

National Gallery (London) The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dir ...

. Douglas-Compton inherited

Compton Wynyates Compton Wynyates is a Tudor architecture, Tudor English country house, 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 castellate ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

and in 1867 he assigned

Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt (28 July 1820 – 21 May 1877) was a British architect and art historian who became Secretary of the Great Exhibition, Surveyor of the East India Company and the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Camb ...

to restore it.

Personal life

In 1859, he married Theodosia, daughter of Henry Vyner and granddaughter of Robert Vyner, MP for

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. Their marriage was childless and Douglas-Compton was succeeded in his titles by his younger brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Coat of arms

References

1816 births 1877 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Deputy lieutenants of Argyllshire

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Marquesses of Northampton (1812 creation) {{UK-marquess-stub