St. Anthony hath upon the north St. German’s Creek; south, St. John’s;
east, Tamesworth Haven, or Saltash River, with part of Sheviock. This
parish is situate in the hundred of Eastwell-shire, so called from
Mark’s-Well, in Landrake, that is to say, the Earl’s well, viz. the
Earl of Cornwall’s well, perhaps by some of those princes founded, and
accordingly from them denominated, who were originally lord of all the
Cornish cantreds. At the time of the Conqueror’s tax, as I said
before, there was no such district charged therein as Anthony; so that
this parish or tract of land then was rated either under the names of
Abbi-town, now St. German’s or Cudan-Beke. In the Pope’s inquisition
into the value of benefices in Cornwall, 20 Edward I. 1294, Ecclesia
de Antoni, in decanatu de Eastwellshire, was rated to first fruits
vi_l._ In Wolsey’s inquisition, 1521, and Valor Beneficiorum, 12_l._
17_s._ 6_d._ the patronage in ――――; the incumbent Taylor. The
rectory, or sheaf, in possession of ――――. This parish was rated to
the 4_s._ per pound land tax, 1696, 244_l._ 4_s._
East Anthony, in this parish, is the dwelling of the ancient and
famous family of gentlemen, the Carews, now Baronets; which lands
descended to them by marriage from one of the daughters of Sir Edward
Courtney, Knt. of Boconock, whose mother was Philippa, the sole
daughter and heir (or one of the coheirs) of Sir Warren Archdeacon,
Knt. of this place, a person and family of great fame and estate in
former ages; for thus it is recorded that Thomas Archdeacon, of this
place, was Sheriff of Cornwall 7th Edward II. Walter L’erch-Deacon was
also Sheriff of Cornwall 6th Rich. II. 1383. Which family gave for
their arms, in a field Argent, three chevronels Sable, which was
lately extant in the glass windows of Leskeard church.
From Sir Nicholas Baron Carew’s fourth son, Alexander, by the
aforesaid Jone Courteney (he is called Baron St. Carew, for that he
was summoned by writ, and by that name to sit in Parliament 3d Edward
IV. as a Baron), the gentlemen ever since, and him now in possession
of this lordship, are lineally descended. The said Alexander Carew,
Esq. was Sheriff of Cornwall 3d Henry VII. His son, John Carew, Esq.
was Sheriff of Cornwall 6th Henry VIII. His grandson, Richard Carew,
Esq. author of the Survey of Cornwall, was Sheriff thereof the 24th of
Elizabeth; whose son, Richard Carew, Esq. was, by letters patents
bearing date the 9th of August, 17th Charles I. 1641, created the
278th Baronet of England; whose son or brother, Sir Alexander Carew,
was executed for pretended treason against the Parliament of England,
about endeavouring to deliver up to Kinge Charles the Island of
Plymouth, whereof he was Governor, 23d Dec. 1644. His son, Sir John
Carew, Baronet, was one of the Shire Knights of this County 1660, who
died about the year 1686, and left issue by ――――, daughter of Sir
William Morrice, Knt. Sir Richard Carew, Bart. and William his brother.
Mr. John Carew, son or brother of Sir Alexander last mentioned, was
executed as one of the Regicides of King Charles I. 1661. Mr. Carew,
in his Survey of Cornwall, p. 65, (p. 180 of Lord Dunstanville’s
edition,) tells us that his first ancestor came out of France with
William the Conqueror, by the name of Karrow. In the same book, p.
103, (p. 246 of Lord Dunstanville,) he said that Carew, of ancient
Carru, was, and Carrue is, a plough in French; but then it should have
been written Carue, or Charoue; and to countenance this opinion of
this family’s French descent, Camden, in his Remains, p. 143, tells us
that the same holds by tradition, I know not how truly, that Adam, or
rather Arnold de Montgomery, marrying the daughter of Carew of
Molesford, her son, relinquishing his own name, left to his posterity
his mother’s name, Carew, from whome the Carews of Surrey, Devon, and
Cornwall, are descended. Contrary to this opinion, Prince, in his
Worthies of Devon, p. 148, saith that Walter de Windsor, about the
time of the Norman Conquest, a Norman Frenchman, (as some say
Governor, Castellan, Constable, or Steward of Windsor Castle, son of
that Otho, that came in with William the Conqueror,) had issue William
and Gerald his sons, who styled themselves after the mode of that age,
William and Gerald of Windsor from the places of their residence, or
for that they were born there; from William, the Lord Windsor is
descended, and from Gerald, the Fitz-Geralds Earls of Kildare, and the
Carews of England. Gerald of Windsor was Steward or Castellan of the
Castle of Pembrook, of Carew, in Wales, upon whom King Henry I.
bestowed Molesford, in Berkshire; he married Nesta, daughter of Rosse,
Prince of South Wales, to whom the said King gave the Castle of Carew
in those parts; Gerald had issue by Nesta, Otho de Windsor, who had
issue William de Windsor or Carew, to whom King John, by deed dated
1212, made a further grant of Molesford, reciting the former deed of
King Henry I. to his grandfather. So that this William was the first
of this family that assumed the name of Carew. Thus Prince again, the
author of the Antiquities of Oxford, is positive that this family of
Carew was denominated from Castle Carew, in Pembrokeshire, and not
otherwise. Thus God in his providence, to check our presumptious
inquisitions and pretensions, hath wrapped all things in uncertainty,
bars us from long antiquity, and bounds our search within the compass
of some few ages, scarcely affording any true record of pedigrees or
descents as far back as the Norman Conquest, whatsoever to the
contrary is by some men and families pretended.
Lastly, as this family was denominated from one of their ancestors
being Constable or Castellan of the Castle of Carew, in Pembrokeshire,
for carew doth not signify a plough in British, for ardar, aradr,
arar, is a plough in Welsh, Cornish, and Armoric, and kaer, caer, is a
castle or fortified place. Carew, caer-ew, care-eff, is he, his, or
her, Castle, as ipie, ipea, ipeum. See Ffloyd. Caer-eau, British
Saxon, is a castle or fortified place of water, referring perhaps to
the medical or purgative waters there.
As Mr. Carew saith his family was denominated from one Carrow or
Karrow that came into England with William the Conqueror, so I must
tell you that there was in Cornwall and Devon, not long since, a
genteel family surnamed Carrow (id est, deer) who gave for their
armes, as appears from Nich. Upton’s Latin manuscript book of
Heraldry, before printing was invented, now in my custody, dated 1444,
in those words, “Monsieur Joh’is de Carrow, port d’or iii lyons
passant sable,” which is now the arms of those gentlemen
before-mentioned, named Carew. Care-w, after the English Cornish, is
he, his, or her care, watchfulness, or circumspection.
In this parish or manor, as I take it, stands Intsworth, alias
Inis-worth, synonymous words signifying an island of worth, price, or
value, viz. a peninsular formed by rivers of water, which leaves
between them an angled or three-cornered promontory of land, called in
British inis, signifying the same as amnicus mediamnis in Latin. See
Gluvias. This place, before the Norman Conquest, was the land of
Condura and Cradock, Earls of Cornwall, by one of whose daughters or
granddaughters, Agnes, it came by marriage to Reginald Fitz-Harry,
base son of King Henry I. by Anne Corbet; who, in her right, long
after William Earl of Cornwall, of the Norman race, forfeited the same
to the King by attainder of treason, was made Earl thereof, from whose
heirs it passed to the Dunstanvills and Valletorts; and by Valletort’s
daughter Joan, the widow of Sir Alexander Oakston, Knt. who turned
concubine to Richard Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans, who had by
her a sole daughter named Joan, married to Richard Champernowne, a
second son of Sir ―――― Champernowne, of Clift Champernowne, in Devon,
in whose posterity it remained till Henry VII.’s days, when, his issue
male failing, his three daughters and heirs were married to Monk,
Fortescue, and Trevillian, from some of whose heirs it came by
purchase to Edward Nosworthy, Esquire, Member of Parliament for
Saltash, son of Edward Nosworthy, merchant and shopkeeper in Truro,
temp. Charles II. who married Hill of that place, as his son aforesaid
did Maynard and Jennings. The arms of Nosworthy are (see St. Stephen’s
by Saltash). The name Nos-worthy signifies a “night of worth,” price
or value so called, for that the first propagater thereof was born by
night, or was notable for some profitable fact done at that season.
And John Nosworthy was steward of Exon 1521.