The dressed stone of the castle was pilfered, being used to build new structures. The rough stone of the Outer Ward was removed and ended up unceremoniously as mortar or one of many other uses that the local village population dreamed up.
A limestone kiln was found during archeological digs suggesting that indeed the outside of the castle suffered greatly from it’s ‘dressing down’. The interior wards suffered little from the pilfering, most likely due to their height and tremendous size.
During the 1700s and 1800sm the castle again came to prominence because of a reawakening interest in the Middle Ages. The castle was painted in mediums such as watercolors. Carew was painted by a number of artists, the most famous being J.M.W. Turner, and the foremost landscape artist of the time.
Turner made five tours of Wales in seven years to sketch and paint. A series of his paintings entitled ‘Picturesque Views of England and Wales’ was prominently featuring of ruined castles. He painted a beautiful picture of Carew to include in the series.
Another artist named Charles Norris painted many views of Carew, and he was renown for his eye to architectural detail. Norris settled in the area near Carew which many explain the castle’s frequent appearance in his work.
On a visit to Carew, one can see how the castle would catch the eye of a painter or the mind of a writer. The feel of a romantic era of the castle somewhat softens the violent bits of the castle’s history. Carew can truly be viewed as a place where fairy tales happened.
Editor Note: In my research for this series of articles I have used the following printed resourses: Carew Castle Souvenir Guide, published by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
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