HEDDINGTON IN THE MEDIAEVAL PERIOD. 9 



or Carru ; the spelling of that name being changed to Carew in Henry 

 the Seventh's reign. Their arms are, Or, three lions passant in pale 

 sable. The Carews can boast of several distinguished men belonging 

 to their family, among whom ranks the celebrated historian Giraldus, 

 commonly known by the name of Cambrensis. Sir Nicholas Carew, the 

 first owner of Beddington, was also a personage of some importance, 

 being not only one of the knights of the shire, but also the Keeper 

 of the Privy Seal in Edward the Third's reign, as well as one of 

 the executors of that monarch's will. Other houses with lands, or 

 small manors, as they were sometimes called when belonging to 

 religious bodies, had, at different times, become the property of 

 the Carews. Amongst these were the Freres Manor, which formerly 

 belonged to the Hospital of St. Thomas, Southwark, and the Foresters 

 Manor. These came to the same family at a very early period. 

 The manor of Beddington continued in the Carew family until 

 the reign of Henry VI IT., when Sir Nicholas Carew, Lieutenant of 

 Calais, Master of the Horse, and one of the Knights of the Garter, in- 

 curred the displeasure of that puissant monarch, and, being attainted 

 of high treason, was beheaded on Tower Hill in 1539, ano ^ buried in St. 

 Botolph, Aldgate. All the lands at Beddington were then seized by 

 the king, who appointed Michael Stanhope keeper of the Manor-house. 

 During this time Henry VIII. is said to have frequently resided at the 

 Manor-house, and in 1541 he held a council there. Subsequently Walter 

 Gorges obtained, for his life, the Manor of Beddington from Henry, and 

 in the following reign the manor, mansion, and church with lands, were 

 granted to Thomas Lord Darcy of Chiche, in exchange for other lands 

 which Darcy had ceded to the king. From Queen Mary, in whose service 

 he was, Sir Francis Carew obtained restitution of all his father's estates, 

 but he prudently did not rest satisfied with the mere grant of the queen, 

 but gave a sum of money to Darcy to cede the lands to him. It was 

 this Sir Francis Carew who rebuilt the mansion of which now the great 

 hall alone remains. The great door of this hall has a curious ancient 

 lock very richly wrought, the key-hole of which is concealed by a shield 

 bearing the arms of England. Queen Elizabeth honoured Sir Francis 



