Use Restrictions

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Raleigh (Ralegh) and Carew family correspondence, C0351, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

This collection was purchased from The Book Press, Ltd.

Processing Information

Reprocessed by Amanda Brent in May 2019. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in May 2019.

Historical Information

The Raleigh (also spelled Ralegh) and Carew families were prominent English families whose members rose to power during the reigns of King Henry VIII and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. The most famous member of the Raleigh family was Sir Walter Raleigh, famed explorer and on-and-off favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. Raleigh temporarily went out of favor with the Queen when he married her Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber, Elizabeth "Bess" Throckmorton, without her permission. The couple had three sons: Damerei, Walter, and Carew. Carew was named for Throckmorton's mother's family name.

The Carew family was also entwined with the English court. Sir Nicholas Carew, Bess's maternal grandfather, was a courtier for King Henry VIII and related through marriage to Anne Boleyn. Carew was eventually executed in 1539 for his alleged involvement with the Exeter Conspiracy, a plot to overthrow the King and replace him with Henry Courtenay, the Marquess of Exeter.

Carew's daughter Anne had eleven children, including Bess and her brother Nicholas, who eventually changed his name from Throckmorton to his mother's maiden name of Carew.

Scope and Content

This collection includes correspondence between and from members of the Raleigh (also spelled Ralegh) and Carew families from around the mid 1500s to 1652. The collection is composed of eight letters. Notable correspondence includes a letter from Bess Throckmorton Raleigh to her brother Nicholas Carew, as well as correspondence written by Carew Raleigh, youngest son of Bess and Sir Walter Raleigh. One letter is written in French.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center also holds rare books on English history and the Elizabethan period.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Carew, Nicholas, -1644
• Correspondence
• England
• England -- History -- 16th century
• England -- History -- 17th century
• Letters
• Renaissance -- England
• Renaissance -- England