Compton Castle
Compton Castle is a fortified mansion near the town of Torquay in Devon, south-west England . Except for a short break, the owners were the Gilbert family; its most famous member was Humphrey Gilbert , founder of the English colony of Newfoundland and half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh . Since 1951, the property belongs to the National Trust .
Compton Castle was built and expanded in three periods between the 14th and 16th centuries. It is one of the few fortified houses in Britain that was not later altered. The large hall and pantry date from around 1350. The chapel, watchtower and kitchen were added in 1370.
The fortification of the house fell during the reign of Henry VIII , when the danger of French invasions was very great. The building, equipped with towers, loopholes, crenellated portcullis, lookouts and a 6 m high wall, was not impregnable, but it was able to withstand groups of raiders who had landed on the coast. Compton Castle's location in a lush basin provided additional protection from surprise attacks.
In addition to a rose garden, Compton Castle's gardens also have a new knot garden . Square knot beds designed as ornaments appeared in the Renaissance. Herbal plants and boxwood used to be combined in the knotted bed; this type of planting later gave way to the so-called book parterre. Especially in spring and autumn, many visitors come to Compton Castle to enjoy the beauty of the gardens.
In 1995 Compton Castle was the location of Ang Lee's feature film Sense and Sensibility .
Front up close
Courtyard side from the southwest
Old kitchen
rose Garden
literature
- Stephen Lacey: Gardens of the National Trust. National Trust Books, 2005, ISBN 1-905400-00-4 , p. 95.
- Peter Furtado, Nathaniel Harris, Hazel Harrison, Paul Pettit: The Country Life Book of Castle and Houses in Britain . Newnes Books 1986, ISBN 0-600-56400-2 , p. 47.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 28 ′ 20 ″ N , 3 ° 36 ′ 3 ″ W.