The architecture, too,
is all irregular; towers here and there, gables of different
heights, any straight line embattled, few windows placed exactly
over others, and the whole fitly surmounted by the elaborate
brick chimneys of different designs, some fluted, others
zigzagged, others spiral, or combined spiral and fluted."
[34] _Memorials of Old Warwickshire_, edited by Miss Alice Dryden.
An illustration is given of one of these chimneys which form such an
attractive feature of the house.
[Illustration: Chimney at Compton Wynyates]
It is unnecessary to record the history of Compton Wynyates. The
present owner, the Marquis of Northampton, has written an admirable
monograph on the annals of the house of his ancestors. Its builder was
Sir William Compton,[35] who by his valour in arms and his courtly
ways gained the favour of Henry VIII, and was promoted to high honour
at the Court. Dugdale states that in 1520 he obtained licence to
impark two thousand acres at Overcompton and Nethercompton, _alias_
Compton Vyneyats, where he built a "fair mannour house," and where he
was visited by the King, "for over the gateway are the arms of France
and England, under a crown, supported by the greyhound and griffin,
and sided by the rose and the crown, probably in memory of Henry
VIII's visit here.
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