DiCamillo Companion
England

Compton Place (Bourne Place)

  • House & Family History: Compton Place is a house of 10 bays and two stories with a bay window on the garden facade. The core is Jacobean, or possibly earlier; the exterior was remodeled circa 1730 and again in 1800; the last rebuilding left Compton Place with its current exterior. The highlight is the state bedroom, with its fantastic over-the-top stucco ceiling designed in 1728 by Charles Stanley. In 1724 Bourne Place was purchased by The Hon. Spencer Compton and renamed Compton Place. King George V and Queen Mary stayed here in 1935 and, in 1949, Princess Margaret was a guest at the house. The 10th Duke of Devonshire died at Compton Place in 1950. Since 1954 the house has been occupied by a school.

    Collections: At the Chatsworth Attic Sale held by Sotheby's October 5-7, 2010, a late 18th century Italian carved white marble athenienne formerly at Compton Place sold for £54,050, against a high estimate of £40,000. The athenienne is over four feet high and is based on a late 18th century Piranesi etching of a marble tripod in the Capitoline Museums, Rome.

  • Garden & Outbuildings: The stables and coach houses are Grade I-listed.

  • Architect: Colen Campbell

    Date: 1726-31
    Designed: Remodeled House

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  • Country Life: XL, 266, 294, 1916. LXXVII, 144, 1935. CXIII, 734, 818, 1953.

  • Title: Sotheby's Auction Catalog: Chatsworth: The Attic Sale, Oct 5-7, 2010
    Author: NA
    Year Published: 2010
    Reference: pg. 214
    Publisher: London: Sotheby's
    ISBN: NA
    Book Type: Softback

    Title: Counting My Chickens and Other Home Thoughts
    Author: Devonshire, Deborah
    Year Published: 2001
    Reference: pg. 89
    Publisher: Gloucestershire: Long Barn Books
    ISBN: 1902421051
    Book Type: Hardback

    Title: Buildings of England: Sussex, The
    Author: Pevsner, Nikolaus; Nairn, Ian
    Year Published: 1973
    Reference: pg. 485
    Publisher: London: Penguin Books
    ISBN: 0140710280
    Book Type: Hardback

  • House Listed: Grade I

    Park Listed: Grade II

  • Past Seat / Home of: Sir Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, 18th century; James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton, 18th century. Lord George Cavendish, later Earl of Burlington, 19th century; Cavendish family here from 1858 until 1954.

    Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust

    Primary Current Ownership Use: School

    Ownership Details: Compton Place is owned by the Duke of Devonshire and leased to Language Training Centres, who operate the House as LTC Eastbourne.

  • House Open to Public: No

    Email: [email protected]

    Website: http://www.ltc-english.com

    Historic Houses Member: No