Francis Compton

Who was Francis Compton?

Francis Compton D.C.L was an English lawyer and Conservative Party politician.

Compton was the son of Henry Combe Compton M.P. of Minstead Manor House, Lyndhurst, Hants and his wife Charlotte Mills. He was educated at Merton College, Oxford and became a Fellow of All Souls. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn and Middle Temple in 1850. He was a J.P. for Hampshire.

At the 1880 general election Compton was elected as Member of Parliament for South Hampshire. When this was divided under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, he was elected at the 1885 general election as MP for the New Forest, and held the seat until he retired from the House of Commons at the 1892 election.

Compton lived at Manor House, Minstead, Lyndhurst and died at the age of 91. His son Henry Francis Compton was later MP for New Forest. His sister Catherine married Admiral Sir Henry Codrington.