Compton Castle

Compton has grown from a manor house into a fortified structure. The manor was enlarged in the 1450s and then, in response to French raids on Plymouth in the 1520s it was fortified. By 1800 the family had moved to Bodmin, Cornwall, and Compton fell into ruin and was sold. Commander Walter Raleigh Gilbert bought the castle and surrounding orchard back in 1931 and started its restoration. Fragments of the original stonework were found amongst the ruins in 1955 and were used as the basis for the Great Hall’s windows. It is now owned by the National Trust. After breakfast at Occombe Farm, we visited here, and then moved on to Cockington, enabling  the children to complete one nature trail and one Easter egg hunt in one day. Tonight we will probably play board games again, particularly Carcassonne. See extra. I won last night despite not having a clue what Carcassonne was about.