Antony was the seat of the Carews since the fifteenth century. The present house, given to the National Trust in 1961, was built in 1718 for Sir William Carew (1689–1744), 5th Bt, after his marriage to the heiress Lady Anne Coventry (1695/1696–1733). Following the death of his only son, Sir Coventry Carew, 6th Bt, it passed eventually, in 1772, to Reginald Pole of Stoke Dameral, Devon (1753–1835), who had added the name of Carew. Amongst the remaining paintings, the striking whole-length portrait of Sir Alexander Carew (1608/1609–1644), 2nd Bt, executed during the Civil War, was accepted in lieu in 2005. Notable among other family-owned pictures are Thomas Beach’s charming portrait of William Templer Pole, Mary Ann Pole and John George Pole as Children, in 1793, with cricket bats and a ball, and Shute Barton, the Pole seat, in the background. Also of note is the romantic portrait of Rachel Carew (1669–1705), the heroine of Daphne du Maurier’s 'My Cousin Rachel'.