Compton Castle is a fortified manor house

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

 in the village of Compton, about 5 miles (8 km) west of Torquay

Torquay

Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 . The castle has been home to the Gilbert family for most of the time since it was built. It has been a National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 property since 1951.

The original undefended manor house was built in the mid-14th century and consisted of a hall flanked by solar

Solar (room)

The solar was a room in many English and French medieval manor houses, great houses and castles, generally situated on an upper storey, designed as the family's private living and sleeping quarters...

 and service rooms at each end - these were rebuilt in the later Middle Ages. The fortress-like front was added in about 1520 by John Gilbert. The central hall was in ruins by the 18th century, but was faithfully reconstructed in the 1950s.

Compton Castle's most famous inhabitant was Sir Humphrey Gilbert (1539–1583), coloniser of Newfoundland and half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh; legend has it that Raleigh smoked the first pipe of tobacco in Britain while visiting Sir Humphrey. The castle was home to the Gilbert family until the estate was sold in 1785 whereupon it gradually declined until a descendent bought it back in 1931; he gave it to the National Trust in 1951 on the condition that members of the family should continue to occupy the castle. They still do, and administer it for the Trust.

The castle was used as a location for the filming of the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility. Its Great Kitchen is notable for the insight it gives into medieval domestic life, and its small formal gardens are enclosed by a stone curtain wall

Curtain wall (fortification)

A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two bastions of a castle or fortress.In earlier designs of castle the curtain walls were often built to a considerable height and were fronted by a ditch or moat to make assault difficult....

.

There is another Compton Castle at Compton Pauncefoot

Compton Pauncefoot

Compton Pauncefoot is a village in Somerset, England, situated beside the A303 road, south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 130. The civil parish of Blackford and Compton Pauncefoot joins the village with Blackford and therefore population is...

, Somerset.