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.

Originally from Compton Wynyates in Warwickshire, his father was a close personal friend of Charles I and extremely wealthy, owning properties in more than eleven counties, including Castle Ashby House which became his main seat.

[7] In March 1643, a Royalist cavalry force including Compton and led by his father the Earl of Northampton clashed with a Parliamentarian army under Sir John Gell at Hopton Heath.

[8] His father's death meant Compton inherited his titles and regiments; he fought at the First Battle of Newbury in September 1643, then Cropredy Bridge in June 1644, before being routed by Oliver Cromwell at Islip, Oxfordshire in April 1645.

[9] He was present at Naseby in June, a defeat that destroyed the last major Royalist field army, and accompanied Charles on the attempt to link up with Montrose in Scotland that ended at Rowton Heath in September.

[11] While his brother William was involved in the Royalist underground as a member of the Sealed Knot, Compton remained largely undisturbed by the authorities, although he was briefly arrested for his part in the 1659 Booth's Uprising.

In 1977, the discovery of manuscripts held in the family archives at Castle Ashby showed he wrote at least four original plays, including one on Caracalla, and an unfinished draft of a drama on Strafford.