Compton Verney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Compton Verney is a small village 2km northwest of Kineton, in Warwickshire and was originally an "extra parochial Liberty". It is well known for its trees.
The first record of a settlement at Compton Verney was the late Saxon village of Compton. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, the village was divided into two manors. The largest manor was held by the Count of Meulan, and this was inherited by the Earls of Warwick, who held it in the king’s name.
Some time before 1150, the manor was granted to Robert Murdac and the village became known as Compton Murdac, passing by inheritance to the heirs of the Murdak family. In 1370, after two hundred years of Murdac ownership, Sir Thomas Murdac surrendered the estate to Edward III’s mistress, Alice Perrers.
In 1435, it was acquired by Richard Verney (1435-1490), with the assistance of his younger brother, John, Dean of Lichfield, and Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. By about 1500 the manor was so closely associated with them that it began to be known as Compton Verney.
Compton Verney House, the present mansion, was built by George Verney, twelfth Lord Willoughby de Broke in 1714. In 1780, the fourteenth Earl employed Robert Adam for the purpose of carrying out major extensions to the manor. The grounds were landscaped by Lancelot "Capability" Brown who constructed two lakes almost a mile long from a number of smaller pools. The house was bought in 1993 in a run-down state by Littlewoods millionaire Sir Peter Moores, and restored into an art gallery capable of hosting international exhibitions.
