Dating mainly from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, Compton is one of the few fortified houses that have survived without the alterations and additions which usually modify the character of buildings of this antiquity. Its interest, however, is not only architectural. The long history of Compton — it has remained, with a single break, for six hundred years in the Gilbert Family — illustrates both the responsibilities of property holders under the feudal system, and the romantic era of colonial expansion in the Elizabethan period, an expansion in which Sir Humphrey Gilbert and his younger half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, played so distinguished a part.
Compton has long been scheduled as an Ancient Monument. Sold by the family in 1800, and bought back in 1930, the house was restored and the Hall completely rebuilt by Commander and Mrs Walter Raleigh Gilbert, who gave the property to the National Trust in 1951. Commadnder Gilbert died in 1977 and Mrs Gilbert retired from Compton in 1984 after fifty years’ residence. Mr and Mrs Geoffrey Gilbert now live in the house together with their children Humphrey, Arabella and Walter Raleigh.
