George Carew (clergyman)

George Carew (* 1497 or 1498; † June 1, 1583 in London ) was an English clergyman. During the Reformation he converted to Protestantism . Under Queen Elizabeth I , he was one of the most important clergymen at the royal court.

origin

George Carew came from the Carew family , a family of the gentry of South West England. He was born the third son of Edmund Carew and his wife Katherine Huddesfield, probably in Mohun's Ottery , his father's residence. Nothing is known about Carew's childhood and upbringing, except that he applied for a bachelor's degree at Broadgate's Hall in Oxford in 1522 . However, it is not certain that he received it.

Clergyman under Henry VIII and Edward VI.

Carew came to the royal court in the 1520s. In 1533 he served as chaplain to King Henry VIII. At this time he is said to have been widowed, because after the death of his wife he went on a study trip abroad. After receiving a benefice in Lydford in Devon in 1533 , he became archdeacon of Totnes in 1534 and rector of East Allington in Devon in 1536 . Probably afterwards he converted to Protestantism, because in 1538 he was in Paris with Miles Coverdale , John Berkynsaw and other supporters of Thomas Cromwell . After his return, the king granted him further benefices in the dioceses of Exeter and Salisbury , namely 1540 in Titcombe , 1542 in Torbryan , 1543 in Carhays and 1544 in Ilfracombe . In 1544 Carew contributed £ 50 to the war with France , and in 1545, against the opposition of the cathedral chapter, the king procured him a benefice at Wells Cathedral . After the death of Henry VIII. Carew remained under his son and successor Edward VI. royal chaplain. This allowed him to go on study trips abroad for up to five years while retaining his income. 1548 Carew put his position as archdeacon of Totnes down and instead was Precentor of Exeter Cathedral . In 1551 the king allowed him not to live in the places of his benefices for life, and in 1552 William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke gave him the office of Dean of Bristol .

Clergyman under Mary the Catholic

After the death of Edward VI. Carew first suffered like his brother Sir Gawain Carew and his nephew Sir Peter Carew as a Protestant under the rule of Mary the Catholic . In April 1554 he lost his benefice in Wells and between June and August 1554 he had to resign from his offices in Torbryan and the Deanery of Bristol. Like his relatives, however, he was then able to convince the new government that he was above all a loyal subject to the crown. He was then not only allowed to keep his other offices, but received further benefices in Chichester and Salisbury in 1555 and again in Wells in 1556, in addition to the office of archdeacon of Exeter and the rectorate of High Beckington in Devon. In 1557 he became Rector of Mells in Somerset and in October 1558 Precentor of Salisbury Cathedral . A week after Elizabeth I ascended the throne, Sir John Harrington made him the rectorate of Kelston in Somerset.

Court chaplain under Elizabeth I.

Carew recommended himself to the new ruler Elisabeth as a Protestant who was neither radical nor had to go into exile under her predecessor Maria or who rejected the Tudor succession . Elisabeth then appointed him the first and only dean of the Chapel Royal during her reign. In this function he celebrated the coronation mass on January 15, 1559 according to the Reformed rite without transubstantiation , since none of the bishops present wanted to celebrate the Lord's Supper under these conditions. A little later the Queen appointed him Dean of Christ Church in Oxford and Precentor of Wells, and she reinstated him as Dean of Bristol. In 1560 he became registrar of the Order of the Garter and dean and canon of Windsor , for which he had to give up several benefices, including the one in Wells. In 1561 he also resigned as dean of Christ Church. In 1565 Gilbert Bourne , the deposed Catholic Bishop of Bath and Wells, was placed under his supervision. In 1569 Carew took over the office of dean instead of the office of archdeacon of Exeter. In the same year, the Queen allowed him that, because of his age, he would no longer have to exercise his offices locally. Probably due to his declining health, he resigned as Dean of Windsor in 1572, as Rector of Tiverton in 1574 and as Dean of Bristol in 1580. However, he remained Dean of the Chapel Royal, Dean of Exeter, Precentor of Salisbury and Wells and Rector of Mells until his death. Carew died of old age and was buried on July 3, 1583 at St Giles in the Fields in London. After his death, Elizabeth I did not appoint a new dean of the Chapel Royal; only her successor James I filled this position.

Grave slab of Carew's daughter Mary Carew in Sandford Church in Devon

Marriages and offspring

The name of Carew's first wife is unknown and the marriage was likely to have remained childless. Before 1552 he had married Anne Harvey († 1605), a daughter of Sir Nicholas Harvey and his wife Bridget, in his second marriage . He had several children with her, including:

• Sir Peter Carew († 1580)
• George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes (1555-1629)
• Mary Carew († 1604) ∞ Walter Dowrich

Since his eldest son Peter died childless in Ireland in 1580, his second son George became his heir.

Web links

• PE McCullough: Carew, George. In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004