Life

He was a younger son, the tenth of sixteen children, of Sir Wymond Carew of Antony, Cornwall

Antony, Cornwall

Antony is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.The village is situated on the Rame Peninsula about three miles west of Torpoint and has a shop, a pub and a garage....

, treasurer of the first-fruits and tenths, by Martha Denny

Martha Denny

Martha Denny, Lady Carew was an aristocratic English woman who was also a recusant and was sent to prison in 1562 for having attended mass...

, sister of Sir Anthony Denny. He was educated at Westminster School

Westminster School

The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

, under Alexander Nowell

Alexander Nowell

Alexander Nowell was an English Puritan theologian and clergyman, who served as dean of St Paul's during much of Elizabeth I's reign.-Biography:...

. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

, where he was a scholar in 1548. He graduated B.A. in 1551, became a fellow the same year, and remained in residence for ten years. He was ordained as subdeacon

Subdeacon

-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...

 in 1558, and had at least a nominal connection with the archdeaconry of Norfolk.

Deciding to adopt the law as profession, Carew studied at Leuven

Leuven

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

, and was there and at other universities on the continent for twelve years. He accompanied Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel

Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel

Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel was an English nobleman, who over his long life assumed a prominent place at the court of all the later Tudor sovereigns, probably the only person to do so.-Court career:...

 into Italy as interpreter, and returned with him to England. Carew then entered on practice in the court of arches, and ultimately became master in chancery

Court of Chancery

The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...

, a position which he held for many years, being knighted on 23 July 1603, before the coronation of James I

James I of England

James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

.

His wife was Alice, eldest daughter of Sir John Rivers, knight, lord mayor of London, and widow of one Ingpenny; by her Carew had numerous children. The end of his life was troubled. There was a rumour in January 1613 that he would be cheated of eight or nine thousand pounds through the fraud of a person in whom he had placed confidence, and a little later his eldest son was engaged in a quarrel with one Captain Osborne, who was then killed. Thomas Carew

Thomas Carew

Thomas Carew was an English poet, among the 'Cavalier' group of Caroline poets.-Biography:He was the son of Sir Matthew Carew, master in chancery, and his wife, Alice daughter of Sir John Rivers, Lord Mayor of the City of London and widow of Ingpen...

 was another son, and Carew managed to find him a place with Sir Dudley Carleton.

He was buried at St. Dunstan's-in-the-West on 2 August 1618, his career being described in a memorial tablet in the church, and his name being kept in remembrance by a bequest for the poor of the parish.