George Carew (Admiral)

George Carew. Portrait sketch by Hans Holbein the Younger

Sir George Carew (born around 1504; † July 19, 1545 in the Solent near Portsmouth ) was an English military man and admiral who was killed in the sinking of the Mary Rose .

Origin and youth

George Carew came from the Carew family of Mohun's Ottery in Devon . He was the eldest son of Sir William Carew (around 1483-1536) and his wife Joan (also Jane ) Courtenay († 1554) and grew up in the household of his relative Henry Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon . Possibly he studied at Middle Temple in London from 1519 . As an adventurous young man, he traveled with Edward Rogers and Andrew Flamank to Blois , France , in 1526 , where they tried in vain to enter the service of the French regent Luise of Savoy . After his return to England, Carew was pardoned by King Henry VIII in November .

Rise through the influence of the Marquess of Exeter

Like other acquaintances of Henry Courtenay, who in the meantime had risen to Marquess of Exeter, Carew was also mentioned in 1533 in connection with the alleged prophet Elizabeth Barton . She was executed in 1534, but it seems that Carew's reputation was not damaged. In a by-election in early January 1536, he was under the influence of the Marquess of Exeter as a successor of his uncle Sir William Courtenay as a Knight of the Shire elected for Devon, and probably in the same year he became the defeated knight . From November 1536 to 1537 he served as sheriff of Devon, for which he received the lease income from the Frithelstock Priory , which was dissolved during the Reformation . In August 1537 he was officially given his late father's estates, including Mohun's Ottery in Devon, from which he had an annual income of £ 30. In 1538 he became a Justice of the Peace of Devon and a member of judicial commissions in several southern English counties. In early 1541 he received from the king the lands of the dissolved Polsloe Priory near Exeter . From 1542 to 1543 Carew was again Sheriff of Devon, in addition administrator of the estates of the overthrown and executed Exeter, whereby he had an annual income of £ 30. In 1544 Carew was appointed lieutenant of the Gentlemen Pensioners . He received £ 1 a day for this service.

Military career

Commander of Rysbank

In the summer of 1537 Carew was part of the crew of the fleet that was operating against pirates in the English Channel under Vice Admiral Sir John Dudley . After the deposition of his relative Nicholas Carew , he took over command of Rysbank , a fortress protecting the English mainland possession of Calais, in March 1539 . As a commander he had to live in Calais, which is why he did not run again in the general election in 1539. Carew was officially named commander on July 29th. When he took office, he found the fortress equipped with numerous guns, but without sufficient ammunition. As a commander, he was a member of the Calais Council, which was headed by Arthur Plantagenet , 6th Viscount Lisle . The Act of Six Articles , enacted by the King in 1539 , which regulated the Church of England , threatened the residence permit of Protestant preachers who had found refuge in Calais. In the council, Carew was one of the few members who stood up for this, for which he was praised by John Foxe . Carew himself had become a radical Protestant who allowed meat to be eaten during Lent, which contradicted the Church. In December 1539 he was allowed to receive the future wife of the king in Calais with Anna von Kleve . With official permission, Carew traveled to England in 1540 and took part in a tournament in London on May 1 in the presence of the king. After Arthur Plantagenet, 6th Viscount Lisle, suspected of treason, was arrested, Carew was also brought to the Tower for questioning because the king was concerned about the safety of Calais. Apparently Carew was able to prove his loyalty because he remained in command of Rysbank and was confirmed as a member of the Judicial Commission for Devon.

Service as an officer in the war with France

In June 1543, Carew resigned from his post as commandant of Rysbank and instead served in the war with France from 1542 to 1546 as a cavalry officer under Sir John Wallop in Flanders . Together with his brother Peter Carew , he took part in skirmishes with the French garrison of Thérouanne , then in the siege of Landrecies . He narrowly escaped a sniper's bullet while inspecting a siege trench. When he pursued fleeing French troops after a battle near Landrecies in November 1543, he himself was taken prisoner. He was only released a few months later through the intervention of King Henry VIII. With a retinue of 20 men Carew took part in the campaign to northern France in 1544, in which Boulogne was conquered.

The sinking of Mary Rose based on a contemporary illustration

Service as admiral and death

When a French invasion of England threatened in spring 1545, Carew patrolled the Mary Rose in the English Channel under the command of Lord Admiral John Dudley, 1st Viscount Lisle . In June he was ordered to return to Portsmouth . On July 19, the King dined with the commanders of his fleet on the Great Harry when a French fleet appeared in the Solent . The English fleet ran towards the French. The king had promoted Carew to Vice Admiral before he was put back on land. Carew's flagship was listed during a turning maneuver, whereupon water penetrated through the open gun ports. Before the eyes of the king and Carew's wife, watching the expected battle from Southsea Castle , the Mary Rose sank with most of her crew, including Admiral George Carew.

As an admiral, Carew had not been primarily responsible for the navigation, but rather Captain Roger Grenville . However, shortly before the sinking, Carew is said to have called out to his relative Gawain Carew , the commander of the Matthew Gonson , that his team consisted of rascals who could hardly be kept under control. According to current research, the ship ultimately sank due to nautical errors and due to the unstable construction since the conversion of 1536, which was exacerbated by the overloading before the battle.

Marriages and inheritance

Carew was married twice. In his first marriage he had married Thomasine Pollard , a daughter of Sir Lewis Pollard from King's Nympton in Devon and his wife Agnes. After the death of his first wife on December 18, 1539, before Christmas 1540, he married Mary Norris († 1570), a daughter of Chamberlain Henry Norris and his wife Mary. Both marriages had remained childless. Carew left no will, so his younger brother Peter Carew became his heir. His widow returned to the royal court and was second married to Sir Arthur Champernowne .

Web links

• JPD Cooper: Carew, Sir George (c.1504-1545). 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
• LM Kirk, ADK Hawkyard: CAREW, George (by 1505-45), of Mohun's Ottery, Devon. (History of Parliament Online, Ref Volumes: 1509–1558)