Nicholas Carew (politician, 1635)

Sir Nicholas Carew (baptized June 30, 1635 - January 9, 1688 ) was an English nobleman and politician who was elected four times as a member of the House of Commons .

Origin and education

Nicholas Carew was the only son of Sir Francis Carew and his wife Susan Romney. His father was a gentry of Surrey and owned Beddington and other estates. He died in 1649, having appointed his cousin Carew Raleigh as guardian for his underage son . Carew attended the Hayes School in Middlesex , directed by Thomas Triplett , and studied at Lincoln College , Oxford in 1651 .

Role throughout the Commonwealth

Carew's father had belonged to King Charles I's retinue but, according to his own statements, left the king in 1643 and did not take part in the fighting of the English Civil War . His guardian, Carew Raleigh, certainly reminded Nicholas Carew, given the treatment of his father, Walter Raleigh , that the Stuart kings must be mistrusted. On May 4, 1656, Carew married Susanna Isham , daughter of Sir Justinian Isham, 2nd Baronet of Lamport in Northants . She brought a dowry of £ 4,000 into the marriage. Carew himself had income of about £ 2,200 annually from his property at the time, but shortly thereafter he sold properties with an annual income of about £ 600. In 1659 he supported George Booth's revolt against the Cromwell dictatorship , whereupon his properties were confiscated. After the failure of the Commonwealth, Carew was appointed commissioner for the establishment of the militia and justice of the peace for Surrey in March 1660 , in addition he became captain of the militia in April. In May 1660 he accompanied Lord Berkeley to The Hague , where he and four other agents offered the king's son Charles the English crown. For this, Carew was knighted before October 3, 1660 . When the Fifth Monarchy Men revolted in London in early January 1661 , Carew and his militia should be ready to put down the uprising in Southwark .

Politicians during the Stuart Restoration

In the general election in 1660 Carew had not run, but he ran in a by-election for Gatton , a borough not far from Beddington . There, the previous MP William Oldfield had died without children of legal age, so that Carew was elected unchallenged on November 29, 1664. In the so-called Cavalier Parliament , which met until 1678, Carew was one of the active members of parliament, who was represented in 188 committees and of which over 150 speeches are known. He was often an opponent of the court party that provided the governments. In the general election in February 1679 he was able to prevail against Sir John Thompson , the candidate of the Oldfield family, again as MP for Gatton, and also in August 1679 he was elected as MP for Gatton. He was only moderately active in the two Exclusion Parliaments , but he was one of the leading MPs who wanted to push through the Exclusion Bill . He was also re-elected in the general election in 1681, but in protest against the succession to the throne of James II , he did not stand for the general election in 1685.

Family and offspring

After his death in early 1688, Carew was buried in Beddington. From his marriage to Susanna Isham he had three sons and four daughters. His eldest son Sir Francis Carew († 1689) became his heir .

Web links

• JS Crossette: CAREW, Sir Nicholas (1635-88), of Beddington, Surr. (History of Parliament Online, Ref Volumes: 1660–1690)