Spencer "Spenny" Douglas David Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton (born 2 April 1946) is a
British peer.
He was listed as having properties worth £120 million in the 2011 ''Estates Gazette Rich List''. In the ''
Sunday Times Rich List 2017'', ranking the wealthiest people in the UK, he was listed with an estimated fortune of £110million. In 1985 he sold ''Adoration of the Magi'' by
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna (, ; ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian Renaissance painter, a student of Ancient Rome, Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini.
Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with Perspective (graphical), pe ...
at Christie's in London to the Getty Museum for a then-world record auction price of $10.5 million (£8.1m). In November 1993, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court confirmed his claim to the ownership of the
Sevso Treasure, a hoard of late
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
silver. The hoard was later purchased by
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
(who claims they have been repatriated, although
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
, later
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, and
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
claimed it at the time of the court case) in two phases, first in 2014 and second in 2017.
European Association of Archaeologists: The Seuso Treasure
/ref>
He is a Freemason
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
, and served as the Pro Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England
The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...
from 2001 until March 2009.
Family
Compton is the son of the Most Hon. William Compton, 6th Marquess of Northampton and Virginia Lucie Compton, ''née'' Heaton. The family seats are Castle Ashby House and 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 ...
.
The heir apparent to the marquessate and its subsidiary titles is Northampton's only son Daniel, Earl Compton (b. 1973). The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son, Henry Douglas Hungerford Compton, Lord Wilmington (born 2018).
Personal life
He has been married six times. On 13 June 1967, Compton married Henriette Luisa Maria Bentinck, daughter of Adolph Willem Carel Baron Bentinck and Gabrielle Baronin Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kaszon. The couple had two children and divorced in 1973.
* Lady Lara Katrina Compton (b. 26 April 1968)
* Daniel Bingham Compton, Earl Compton (b. 16 January 1973)
The next year, in 1974, Compton married Annette Marie Smallwood; they divorced in 1977. Later that year, he married Rosemary Ashley Morrit Hancock, who had previously been married to Hon. Lionel Dawson-Damer. They had one child before divorcing in 1983.
* Lady Emily Rose Compton (b. 1980)
On 12 January 1985, he married Hannelore ''Ellen'' (née Erhardt), who had previously been married to Michael Pearson, 4th Viscount Cowdray. Compton and Erhardt had one child and divorced in 1988.
* Lady Louisa Cecilia Compton (b. 1985)
On 10 December 1990, he married Pamela Martina Raphaela (née Haworth), who had previously been married to Emanuel Kyprios. They divorced in January 2013. Later that same year, on 4 September 2013 in 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 married Tracy Goodman, to whom he has remained married.
Arms
See also
* Sevso Treasure
*Northampton Sekhemka statue
The Northampton Sekhemka statue is an ancient Egyptian artefact, given by the Marquess of Northampton to Northampton Museum, in or around 1870. The statue dates from the 5th dynasty (c. 2494–2345 BC, making it slightly older than Stonehenge) ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northampton, Spencer Compton, 7th Marquess Of
1946 births
Living people
Spencer
Marquesses of Northampton (1812 creation)
People educated at Eton College
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 ...