Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton (May 160119 March 1643), styled Lord Compton from 1618 to 1630, was an English soldier and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

from 1621 to 1622. He became a peer by writ of acceleration in 1626 and by inheritance in 1630. He fought in the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

army and was killed in action at the Battle of Hopton Heath.

Life

Northampton was the son of William Compton, 1st Earl of Northampton, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sir John Spencer,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

. He was created a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

on 3 November 1616. In 1621 he was elected Member of Parliament for

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

. Also in 1621, he was appointed Master of the Robes to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and attended the latter in the adventure to Spain in 1623. He warmly supported the king in the Scottish expeditions, at the same time giving his advice for the summoning of the parliament, which "word of four syllables" he declared was "like the dew of heaven". In 1626, he became Baron Compton by writ of acceleration. In 1630 he inherited the

Earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

on the death of his father in 1630 and assumed his duties as Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire and Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire.

Military career

On the outbreak of the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, Northampton was entrusted with the execution of the

Commission of Array A commission of array was a commission given by English sovereigns to officers or gentry in a given territory to muster and array the inhabitants and to see them in a condition for war, or to put soldiers of a country in a condition for military ...

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 ...

. After varying success and failure in the

English Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshi ...

, he fought at the

Battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill, Warwickshire, Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitution ...

and, after

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

's return to Oxford, was given, in November 1642, the military supervision of

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

and the neighbouring country. He was attacked in Banbury by the parliamentary forces on 22 December, but relieved by

Prince Rupert of the Rhine Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

the next day. In March 1643, he marched from Banbury to relieve

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and, having failed there, proceeded to

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, which he occupied. Thence on 19 March, accompanied by three of his sons, he marched out with his troops and engaged Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet and Sir William Brereton at the Battle of Hopton Heath. He put to flight the enemy's cavalry and took eight guns, but in the moment of victory, while charging too far in advance, he was surrounded by the parliamentarian soldiers. To those who offered him a quarter, he answered that he scorned to take a quarter from such base rogues and rebels as they were, whereupon he was slain by a blow on the head.

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 16099 December 1674) was an English statesman, lawyer, diplomat and historian who served as chief advisor to Charles I during the First English Civil War, and Lord Chancellor to Charles II fro ...

, describes his loss as a great one to the cause.

Personal life

Northampton married Mary, daughter of Sir Francis Beaumont, brother of

Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham (née House of Beaumont, Beaumont; c. 1570 – 19 April 1632) was an English peeress. She is perhaps best known as the mother of the royal favourite George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. She was the dau ...

. Northampton and Mary had two daughters and six sons. The four eldest sons were

Cavalier The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...

s in the Civil War, often seeing action together. * James (1622–1681) succeeded his father as 3rd Earl of Northampton *

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 ''* ...

(c. 1624–1661) MP for

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

in 1661 *

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 ...

(c. 1625–1663) one of the original members of the Royalist organisation, The Sealed Knot * Spencer (c. 1629–1659), knighted in 1643 on the same day as Charles and William; died in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

(c. 1629–1716) MP for

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

from 1664 to 1679 *

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

(1632–1713)

bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

from 1675 to 1713 * Anne married Sir Hugh Cholmeley, 4th Baronet, MP for Northampton and Thirsk * Penelope married Sir John Nicholas, MP for

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

from 1661 to 1679 Mary, Countess of Northampton, died on 18 March 1654 at Queen's Street in London.Jessica L. Malay, ''Anne Clifford's Autobiographical Writing, 1590-1676'' (Manchester, 2018), p. 132.

References

Attribution: * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Northampton, Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl Of 1601 births 1643 deaths 02 03 Cavaliers English military personnel killed in action Knights of the Bath Lord-lieutenants of Gloucestershire Lord-lieutenants of Warwickshire Compton, Spencer Compton, Lord Spencer Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge People killed in the English Civil War Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War