Bampfylde Moore Carew

Bampfylde Moore Carew
A 1750 portrait of Bampfylde Moore Carew by Richard Phelps
Born	1693
Died	1759
Nationality	English
Occupation	rogue (vagrant)

Bampfylde Moore Carew (1693–1759) was an English rogue, vagabond and impostor, who claimed to be King of the Beggars.

He was the son of Reverend Theodore Carew, rector of Bickleigh. The Carews were a well-established Devonshire family. Although they had a reputation for adventurousness, Bampfylde Moore Carew took this to extremes, if his picaresque memoirs 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 was first published in 1745. Although it states that the contents were "noted by himself during his passage to America" and it is likely facts were supplied by Carew, the author was probably Robert Goadby, a printer in Sherborne, Dorset, who published an early edition in 1749. It has been suggested that Carew dictated his memoirs to Mrs. Goadby.

The Life and Adventures continued to be a best seller throughout the next hundred years in numerous editions as books and chapbooks. He became a nationally known character, appealing to a provincial audience. One edition of his life was printed in Hull 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 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 Bickleigh 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 because of age and weariness. Some editions of The Life and Adventures suggest Carew reflected with sadness on how 'idly' he had spent his life, perhaps making a racy story acceptable by adding a moral ending.