Compton Castle, Devon

Compton Castle is a rare surviving medieval fortified manor house in Marldon, Devon, with a history dating back to the early 14th century.
The present building began in around 1320, when Geoffrey Gilbert built a manor house after his marriage to Joan, daughter and heiress of William de Compton. The property subsequently remained closely associated with the Gilbert family for around 600 years.
The castle was substantially altered during the 15th and early 16th centuries.
Compton Castle is particularly associated with Sir Humphrey Gilbert (1537–1583), the Elizabethan navigator, soldier and explorer. Gilbert received Letters Patent from Queen Elizabeth I in 1578, authorising him to explore and claim territories not held by a Christian ruler. In 1583 he sailed to North America with a fleet carrying colonists and claimed Newfoundland for Elizabeth I. Later that year, while returning across the Atlantic, his ship Squirrel was lost in a storm near the Azores and Gilbert died with his crew.

Gilbert was also the half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, another prominent figure in England’s Elizabethan overseas expansion.

By around 1750, the Gilbert family had left Compton and the property subsequently became a farm. The castle fell into considerable disrepair: by the 18th century the Great Hall had collapsed and, by the 19th century, much of the building was roofless and overgrown.

A major restoration began in the 20th century after Commander Walter Raleigh Gilbert purchased the castle in 1931. Working with his wife Joan and specialist conservation craftsmen, he undertook an extensive programme of restoration.