Bampfylde Moore Carew (1690-1758) was an English

rogue A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior. Rogue or rogues may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * Rogue Arts, a film production company * Rogue Entertainment, a software co ...

, vagabond and

impostor An impostor (also spelled imposter) is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often through means of disguise. Their objective is usually to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but also often for purposes ...

, who claimed to be King of the Beggars.

Life

Baptized at Bickleigh, Devon, on 23 September 1690, Bampfylde Moore Carew was the son of Reverend Theodore Carew, rector of

Bickleigh Bickleigh may refer to the following places in Devon, England: * Bickleigh, Mid Devon, a village near Tiverton ** Bickleigh Castle * Bickleigh, South Hams Bickleigh is a small village on the southern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England. It h ...

, and Alice (born Pearce). The Carews were a well-established

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

shire family. Although they had a reputation for adventurousness, Bampfylde Moore Carew took this to extremes, if his

picaresque The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corru ...

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

are to be believed. Little is known about his life beyond these, in which he is described on the title-page as ''"the Noted Devonshire Stroller and Dogstealer"''.

''The Life and Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew''

Literary history

''The Life and Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew'' was first published in 1745. Although it states that the contents were "noted by himself during his passage to America" and it is likely that facts were supplied by Carew, the author was probably Robert Goadby, a printer in

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, who published an early edition in 1749. It has been suggested that Carew dictated his memoirs to Mrs Goadby. The ''Life'' continued to be a best seller throughout the next hundred years in numerous editions as books and

chapbook A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...

s. He became a nationally known character, appealing to a provincial audience. One edition of the ''Life'' was printed in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

in 1785. How much of the ''Life'' is true is impossible now to know. Carew certainly travelled and is likely to have indulged in minor crimes, but many stories seem too fantastic or literary to be true. It appealed to the market for mild 'rogue' literature and many editions included a

canting ' (IPA: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax ( jv, ) in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely ''batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional '' ...

dictionary. The public found the ''Life'' appealing: an educated man from a good family who spent his life ingeniously and audaciously outwitting the establishment, including people who should have recognised him, and without ever doing anything really bad. Carew seemingly settled in

towards the end of his life. This may have been because of an offer of support from his relative, Sir Thomas Carew of Bickerton, winning a lottery, or simply age and weariness. Some editions of the ''Life'' suggest that Carew reflected with sadness on how 'idly' he had spent his lifeperhaps making a racy story more acceptable by adding a moral ending. Carew died at

in 1758 (buried 28 June), leaving a daughter.

Carew claims to have taken to the road after he ran away from

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the t ...

in Tiverton. With friends, he chased a deer through fields causing damage, which caused farmers to complain to the headmaster. Carew ran away and, at an alehouse, fell in with a band of “gypsies”. (These were almost certainly not Romany but vagabonds living off their wits.) Carew travelled widely, at first around Devon and then around England, supporting himself by playing confidence tricks on the wealthy. His first trick involved a “Madam Musgrove”, who asked for his help in discovering treasure she believed was hidden on her land. Carew, consulting “the secrets of his arts” for a fee of 20 guineas, informed her it was under a laurel tree but that she should not seek it until a particular day and hour. Of course, by the appointed time Carew and her money were long gone. This was a well-known and documented trick from a period when

cunning folk Cunning folk, also known as folk healers or wise folk, were practitioners of folk medicine, helpful folk magic and divination in Europe from the Middle Ages until the 20th century. Their practices were known as the cunning craft. Their services a ...

were often consulted about lost items. Carew claimed to be a master of disguise, in which he followed the tradition of

counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

s dating back to Thomas Harman. He masqueraded as a shipwrecked sailor (a popular way to claim

alms Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread practice in a numbe ...

), a clergyman, and defrauding “Squire Portman” twice in one day, first as a rat-catcher and then a woman whose daughter had been killed in a fire (another staple of fraudulent beggars). Carew then travelled to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, where he stayed a short time. On his return, he pretended to be the mate of a vessel and eloped with the daughter of a respectable apothecary of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, whom he afterwards married. After further years as a vagabond, he claimed to have been elected

King of the Gypsies The title King of the Gypsies has been claimed or given over the centuries to many different people. It is both culturally and geographically specific. It may be inherited, acquired by acclamation or action, or simply claimed. The extent of the p ...

upon the death of Clause Patch. The ceremony described reproduces one from Thomas Harman’s ''Caveat for Common Cursitors'', via the popular play Beggars' Bush by

Francis Beaumont Francis Beaumont ( ; 1584 – 6 March 1616) was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher. Beaumont's life Beaumont was the son of Sir Francis Beaumont of Grace Dieu, near Thr ...

, John Fletcher, and

Philip Massinger Philip Massinger (1583 – 17 March 1640) was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including '' A New Way to Pay Old Debts'', ''The City Madam'', and ''The Roman Actor'', are noted for their satire and realism, and their polit ...

in which Clause is a character. On 5 May 1739, Carew (described as ‘the noted Dog-stealer’ who upon his arraignment ‘behaved to the Justices in a most insulting manner’) was convicted of being an idle vagrant and sentenced to be transported to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

. There he attempted to escape, was captured, escaped again, and fell in with friendly Indians. He travelled to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, swam the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

, adopted the guise of a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

, and made his way to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Having embarked for England, he escaped being pressed to serve in the Navy by pricking his hands and face, and rubbing in bay salt and gunpowder, so as to simulate smallpox (such tricks were commonplaces in rogue literature). On returning to England, he claims, he found his wife and daughter and then travelled to Scotland by 1745 in time to accompany

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

and

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

. An interesting aside is that when he was sentenced to be transported to Maryland it was in the ships of a company run by a family of Bideford Port, Devon, which later married into the Moore, Bampfylde, and Carew families. There is a Bond and a Contract from Mr Davy, Clerk of the Peace and Justices, for the transport of Richard Bond, Bampfield Moore Carew, William Crocker, Abraham Hart, Edward Browne, John Smith, Judith Daw and Mary Underhill to Virginia. Bampfield Moore Carew's name is inserted in the Bond only.QS/129/21 1738 Devon Quarter Session Records

Devon Record Office There are three local archives covering the historic county of Devon, England. The Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter is the main archive. It has a branch office, the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple (established in 1988), which is the rep ...

The trade of transporting convicts was common from the West Country ports in the 18th century as a return cargo for the tobacco trades, Bideford being one of the major centres for such imports.

References

Sources

*''The life and adventures of Bamfylde Moore Carew, the noted Devonshire stroller and dogstealer'' (1745) *''An apology for the life of Bampfylde-Moore Carew (son of the Rev. Mr. Carew, of Bickley)'' (1749?) *Nooney, M.A., ''The cant dictionary of Bampfylde-Moore Carew: a study of the contents and changes in various editions'' (1969)
King of the Beggars
BBC
Musa Pedestris - Three Centuries of Canting Songs
* Bickleigh, Devon, England Parish register, baptism of Bampfylde-Moore, son of Theodore Carew, on 23 September 1690 * Stoke Damerel,Devon,England Parish Register, marriage of Bampfylde-Moore Carew and Mary Gray on 29 December 1733 * Bickleigh, Devon, England Parish register, burial of Bampfylde-Moore Carew on 28 June 1758 in St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard

External links