William Compton, 1st Earl of Northampton

Son and heir of Henry (1st Lord Compton) by first wife Francis Hastings, William, was summoned by writ from 19 Feb (1592/3) to Parliament in his father's Barony as Lord Compton and ?toosd keat? accordingly. William was a Privy Councillor both to Queen Elizabeth and to her successor, James I of England. On 14 June 1618 James created William Compton Earl of Northampton.

William was summoned by writ from 19 Feb 1592/3 to parliament in his father's Barony as Lord Compton and 'toosd keat' accordingly. William was a Privy Councillor both to Queen Elizabeth and to her successor, James I of England. On 14 June 1618 James created William Compton, Earl of Northampton.

William was an interesting youth who caught the fancy of Elizabeth, which may explain why she assisted him in consummating the love he bore for her namesake, Elizabeth, the heiress daughter of Sir John Spencer, then Lord Mayor of London. Sir John, seemingly unaware of the Queen's interest, disapproved, beat his amorous daughter quite savagely (it was reported at the time) and locked her into her rooms. Young William engineered her escape through a window and carried her away in a laundry basket secured to a dray horse.

Naturally, she was disinherited, but the Queen subsequently prevailed upon the father and there was a reconciliation that ultimately brought the Spencer money into the Compton family. How much? The estimates of the time put it between £ 500,000 and £ 800,000 and that was then, in the early 17th century, very serious money indeed. Indeed, it was so serious that when in 1610 Sir John died and William heard the amount he was to receive, he lamented that he would never be able to spend so much. He then swooned and for a few weeks was so unbalanced mentally that he was housed for his safety in the Tower of London.

Sources:

  1. Title: The Complete Peerage 'A History of the House of Lords and all its Members from the Earliest Times'

Author: George Edward Cockayne (1825-1911)
Publication: St. Catherines Press: Published in 12 volumes 1910 to 1959
Note:
Based on Cockayne memoranda: Published by Congleton and Printed for private circulation in 1869. Each volume was edited by one or more of Vicary Gibbs, HA Doubleday, Lord Howard de Walton, Geoffrey H. White and R.S. Lea; volume XIII was added in 1940 for new creations from 1901 to 1938; a volume XIV was created in 1998 for "addenda and corrigenda".
Page: Volume 2, Pages 340,341

Northampton was the son of Henry Compton, 1st Baron Compton, and Frances Hastings. His maternal grandparents were Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole. Catherine was a daughter of Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu and Jane Neville. Jane was in turn a daughter of George Nevill, 4th Baron Bergavenny and Margaret Fenne.

He notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire and of Gloucestershire and as Lord President of the Marches and of the Dominion of Wales. In 1618 he was created Earl of Northampton.

Lord Northampton married in 1599 or 1600 to Elizabeth Spencer, a daughter of Sir John Spencer who had been Lord Mayor of London in 1594. Their children included :

Anne Compton (d. 1675), married Ulrick Bourke, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde; no issue.

Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton (1601–1643)