Compton Verney of Meulan and later inherited by the Earls of Warwick. At some time before 1150 the manor was granted to Robert Murdac when it became known as "Compton Murdak", and was inherited by his descenants and thence to the heirs of the Murdak family. In 1370, after two hundred years of ownership by his family, Sir Thomas Murdak surrendered the estate to Alice Perrers, mistress of King Edward III. In 1435 it was acquired by Richard Verney (1435–1490) with the assistance of his younger brother John Verney, Dean of Lichfield, and Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. The Verney family had
Alice Perrers soon became legendary, and it was reported that she instilled fear into the populace, amongst whom no-one dared to prosecute a claim against her. To her contemporaries, Alice was seen as an ambitious, grasping, calculating and cold-hearted opportunist who manipulated the ailing King into granting her unheard-of wealth and status, at a court that brimmed with spite and loathing of her. Towards the end of Edward's reign, Alice was accused of making his life a misery and of luring him with her charms only to further her own personal ambitions. According to Charles Cawley, Perrers had three illegitimate children by