Lying in the South Hams countryside, just 5 miles or so from the centre of Torquay, is Compton Castle. It’s really a fortified manor house rather than a castle, and as impressive as this 14^th century National Trust (NT) property is, it’s the association with the Gilbert family that really makes it interesting.

Compton Castle was originally built as a family home by Geoffrey Gilbert, the mayor of Totnes, when he married Joan de Compton in 1329, but the family’s most illustrious owner was the old Elizabethan seadog Sir Humphrey Gilbert.

Humphrey was born sometime around 1539 and was brought up at nearby Greenway on the banks of the River Dart where the Gilberts had another family seat. The original Tudor house that his father built there was replaced in the 18^th century, and later used as a holiday home by Agatha Christie. Greenway is now also in the care of the National Trust.

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Originally posted 2021-04-10 15:52:43.