Compton House - Denton, Northant's - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com

history of the House

One of the largest buildings in Denton is the Victorian 'Rectory' standing at the end of Vicarage Lane . It is a striking and very substantial building, designed by significant architect of the time F.B.Wade and built in 1893 in Castle Ashby produced red brick with contrast blue brick ornate patterning and some stone facing on the South elevation.

It was supposedly built originally for Lord Alwyne Compton, (the fourth son of Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, the 2nd Marquis of Northampton) who was born in 1825 and became Bishop of Ely in 1886. The intention was thought to be that on his retirement he would come to live in the splendid building. However he retired as Bishop of Ely in 1905 and died very soon afterwards in April 1906 so never took up occupation.
It is assumed the building was therefore used from completion as accomodation for the vicar of Denton at the time. Certainly the incumbent Rev. T. Amys was shown to be there on the 1901 census return although it is not known if it was provided to the church free of charge by the Marquis (in his capacity as 'patron of the church') or if some commercial arrangement existed. It is fairly certain the former applied as there are references to the living being 'with residence'.
Legal ownership of the building did not pass from the Estate to the church until 1928 at which time it was gifted by the estate and so it was the church which owned the building therafter and was eventually to sell it into private hands for the first time in 1964 for a price said to be £6,000. The purchaser was, coincidentally, a man called Denton who was in business in Rushden making safety footwear under the name Totectors. The Denton family stayed only a few years until 1969 when it again changed hands to the current owners.

Although frequently referred to as 'The Old Vicarage' the correct name of the building is 'Compton House' reflecting the Estate connection as above.

In recent times the incumbent vicar of the joint benefice comprising the churches at Denton, Whiston, Castle Ashby and Yardley Hastings has lived at the Vicarage in Yardley Hastings. a few years ago, however, this building was found to have structural problems and in 2008 the present vicar, Father David Spokes, moved into a modern house in The Leys, Denton which is now The Rectory for the benefice.

Public/Private: private Tours Available?: no Year Built: 1839 Web Address: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:

Category Visiting Requirements

An original photo is necessary to log a visit in this category along with a description of the visit. No extra visit requirements are allowed by the waymarker.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   02/05/2011 Dragontree visited it