James Compton, 3rd Earl of Northampton

The Right Honourable The Earl of Northampton FRS PC
James Compton, 3rd Earl of Northampton
Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire
In office 1660–1681
Constable of the Tower of London
In office 1675–1679
Privy Councillor
In office 1673–1679
Member of Parliament for Warwickshire
In office November 1640 – September 1642 (excluded)
Personal details
Born	James Compton 19 August 1622 Compton Wynyates
Died	15 December 1681(1681-12-15) (aged 59) Castle Ashby House
Resting place	Compton Wynyates burial grounds
Nationality	English
Political party	Royalist
Spouse(s)	(1) Isabella Sackville (1647–1661) (2) Mary Noel (1663–his death)
Children	Alethea (1661–1678); George (1664–1727); Mary, (1669–1691); Spencer (1674–1743)[1]
Parent(s)	Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton Mary Beaumont
Residence	Castle Ashby House
Alma mater	Queens' College, Cambridge
Occupation	Playwright, translator, landowner, soldier and Royalist politician
Military service
Allegiance	Royalist
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Earl of Northampton's Regiment of Horse
Battles/wars	First English Civil War Edgehill; Hopton Heath; First Newbury; Cropredy Bridge; Islip Bridge; Naseby; Siege of Oxford Booth's Uprising

James Compton, 3rd Earl of Northampton FRS (19 August 1622 – 15 December 1681), was an English peer, politician and author, who fought for the Royalists during the First English Civil War.

He succeeded his father Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton when he was killed in March 1643 at the Battle of Hopton Heath. After the war ended in Royalist defeat in 1646, he spent the next 14 years living quietly on his estates, although he was arrested several times on suspicion of involvement in conspiracies to restore Charles II.

Following The Restoration in 1660, he was rewarded with appointments as Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire and Constable of the Tower of London. While he attended the House of Lords on a regular basis, he played little role in active politics; his third son Spencer briefly became prime minister from 1742 to 1743. He died in December 1681.

Although known to have written a number of plays and translated others, the full extent of his output was only revealed when a cache of papers was discovered at the family home of Castle Ashby House in 1977. Based on this, it is suggested "his name should be added to the list of 17th century, or more particularly of Cavalier, playwrights".^[2]