Morgan

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Lore & Background

Frederic Charles John Morgan was born at Boughrood Castle, Radnorshire, on 26 October 1908 to Frederic George Morgan, 5th Baron Tredegar (then simply Frederic Morgan Esq.) and Dorothy Syssyllt Bassett. Through his maternal line, Morgan was a descendent of the ancient Basset family; some of the earliest Norman settlers. Although named after his father, Morgan was known as John. He was educated at Eton College following family tradition, but did not attend university. It was while studying at Eton that Morgan befriended Alan Pryce-Jones. Pryce-Jones' father nicknamed Morgan 'Pinhead', with even Alan conceiving that Morgan was 'rather a silly boy'. The Morgans claimed descent from Welsh princes, and were among the most powerful families in South Wales, their fortunes having been established by William Morgan, who was a politician, and acquired substantial landholdings throughout Monmouthshire, Glamorganshire and Breconshire. His descendants continued the family's political and social ascent; Charles Morgan becoming a baronet in 1792, and another Charles becoming 1st Baron Tredegar in 1859. His second son, Godfrey Morgan fought in the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War and was made Viscount Tredegar in 1905. Never marrying, Godfrey was in turn succeeded by his nephew Courtenay Morgan, for whom the Tredegar viscountcy was revived in 1926. Evan Morgan succeeded his father in 1934. Having no children of his own, his heir was his uncle, Frederic Morgan, father of John. Morgan's parents divorced in 1921, following an affair between his mother and Ralph Kirby, who she would marry the day following the finalisation of the divorce; Morgan's father took custody of him and his sister, Avis. Morgan's father never remarried, and his mother died in 1929. Morgan joined the Territorial Army, becoming a second lieutenant in the 24th Battalion, London Regiment, on 19 December 1927, resigning from the post on 19 February 1930. It is considered that aside from his army service, Morgan never appeared to have an occupation. Following his resignation from the army, Morgan lived as an expatriate in New Zealand and Australia, where he was engaged in writing a novel based on his travels, before returning to London in 1932. The following year he continued writing, spending a number of months in Ceylon with his sister, Avis. In the late 1930s, Morgan studied painting under Leonard Fuller at the newly established St Ives School of Painting. At the beginning of the Second World War, Morgan rejoined the British Army, becoming a second lieutenant in the King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) on 15 December 1939. Morgan served in Scotland and the Middle East, joining the Reconnaissance Corps on 14 January 1941. Morgan transferred back to the KOSB on 29 September 1943 as a lieutenant. With the war over, Morgan resigned his commission on 19 November 1945, being granted the honorary rank of captain.

In Their Own Story

Between 1934 and 1949, John Morgan's first cousin, Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar, was head of the Morgan family and occupier of Tredegar House. Evan spent copiously during his life with a menagerie of bears, birds, and kangaroos installed at the family home, while his weekend house parties played host to the likes of H.G Wells and Aldous Huxley. Although a Roman Catholic, Evan had a fascination with the occult and enjoyed a long friendship with Aleister Crowley. Despite marrying twice, Evan was homosexual and died without children leaving his 75 year old uncle Frederic as his heir. While Frederic and Evan did not enjoy good relations, John and Evan shared a mutual loathing. As a result of Evan's eccentricities, by the end of the 1940s the family's fortune was depleted. Between 1946 and 1947, several meetings took place between the trustees of the Tredegar Estate in an attempt to recover the lost capital. With Evan refusing to transfer any of the estate to John, and Frederic refusing Evan's suggestion to sell parts of the estate, no agreements were made. On Evan's death in 1949, Frederic inherited the Tredegar Estate, the barony, the baronetcy and a death-duty tax bill of £1,000,000. Frederic, who described himself as an 'arthritis cripple', immediately transferred the Tredegar Estate to his son, John, thereby ensuring that, so long as Frederic died at least five years later, the estates would be exempt from a second bout of death-duties; consequently, John inherited a tax-free £1,150,000 fortune. As a Catholic convert, Morgan made a pilgrimage to Lourdes for guidance as for what to do with his fortune and family estates. At the time, he told the Western Mail that he was prepared to 'live at Tredegar Park on a very modest scale in view of the prevailing conditions' adding 'although my father is crippled with osteo-arthritis, it is my earnest wish that he may be enabled to share with me the family home where he spent so many happy years of his early youth.' In October 1949, a portrait of Morgan was completed by Leonard Fuller to be hung at Tredegar House. Ultimately, fragile health prevented Morgan’s father from joining him at Tredegar House, and while Morgan himself did not make it his permanent residence, he did occasionally stay there for days at a time. As the sole occupier of Tredegar House, and representative of the Morgan family, John Morgan became a regent-like figure, assuming the various social roles that his father would have otherwise held as Lord Tredegar. Among many other organisations, in 1949 Morgan became President of the Bedwellty Agricultural Society, becoming heavily involved in the society’s meetings and shows. In 1950, Morgan was appointed an Officer of the Order of St. John, having already liaised for many months with the Priory for Wales as Assistant Almoner. Reporting on an event which Morgan had chaired in the same year, the South Wales Argus commented 'the more we see of [Morgan], the more we like him.' While Morgan occasionally stayed at Tredegar for days at a time, rising costs coupled with outstanding death-duties meant he never made it his permanent residence. In 1949, Morgan considered donating the house to the National Trust, with James Lees-Milne assessing the property, but did not proceed with the plan. In August 1950, he announced 'with great regret' that death duties, taxation and rising costs had made it necessary for him to close Tredegar House. In December of the same year, he agreed to sell the house and its remaining 200-acre (80 ha) parkland to the Sisters of St. Joseph for £40,000, asserting that the sale was 'good for his bank balance, and his soul'. In January 1951, Morgan allowed Iorwerth Peate, keeper-in-charge for St Fagans Castle, to choose 30 pieces of furniture from Tredegar House for exhibition in the period rooms of the castle. Permission was also given for the National Library of Wales to select around 200 volumes from the library at Tredegar House for their collection; this was the library's 'second selection of printed books, manuscripts and prints', which suggests that further volumes were selected at an earlier date. Morgan also deposited the majority of the Morgan family manuscripts and papers of the to the National Library of Wales, so that they would be preserved in the event of him dying without an heir, despite allegedly having already promised them to the Newport Borough Library. Councillor A. F. Dolman described changing the destination of the documents as a 'breech of faith'. Later, Morgan directed Stephenson & Alexander, a firm of auctioneers, to dispose of the remaining contents of the house in sales on 11–12 July 1951. On the sale of the house, Morgan asked the nuns to hang portraits of his family and ancestors in one room to ensure that a Morgan presence remained in the house after his departure. The house was used by the Sisters as a school until 1974, when it was bought by Newport County Council. In 2012, it was acquired by the National Trust via a 50-year lease agreement. When Morgan announced that he would sell Tredegar House in 1950, he told the press that he 'intended to live at Honeywood House, West Sussex' (another of the Morgan properties) and had 'no intention of breaking his connection with South Wales'. Honeywood was reported to be Morgan's main residence until 1952, when it was announced that he was to move to Gattonside House, Roxburghshire. Morgan directed much of the furniture at Honeywood to be auctioned, while various positions were advertised for Gattonside. In 1953, Morgan suddenly resigned from all of his Welsh social roles, seemingly severing his links with South Wales. At the time it was suggested that this could be due to the fact that he had failed to receive an invitation to meet Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh during a royal visit to Newport earlier in the year, despite being one of the largest landowners in the area. Commenting on the matter, Lord Raglan noted, 'the number of persons to be presented was limited to the holders of definite offices in Monmouthshire: bishops, chairmen, and the like.'

Reader's Guide

John Morgan was the last male heir of the Morgan dynasty, inheriting the Tredegar Estate in 1949 from his father, Frederic George Morgan, 5th Baron Tredegar. The estate came with a £1,000,000 death-duty bill, but Frederic transferred it to John immediately, allowing John to inherit a tax-free £1,150,000 fortune if Frederic lived five more years. Morgan sold Tredegar House and its 200-acre parkland to the Sisters of St. Joseph for £40,000 in December 1950, closed the house in August 1950, and auctioned its remaining contents on 11–12 July 1951. He donated furniture to St Fagans Castle (30 pieces) and around 200 volumes plus manuscripts to the National Library of Wales. Morgan served as President of the Bedwellty Agricultural Society from 1949, was appointed an Officer of the Order of St. John in 1950, and resigned all Welsh social roles in 1953. He died on 17 November 1962, ending the male Morgan bloodline and extinguishing the titles.

Did You Know?

• Morgan was known as 'John' despite being named Frederic Charles John Morgan, and was nicknamed 'Pinhead' by Alan Pryce-Jones' father.
• He sold Tredegar House and its 200-acre parkland to the Sisters of St. Joseph for £40,000 in December 1950, saying it was 'good for his bank balance, and his soul'.
• Morgan's first cousin Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar, kept a menagerie of bears, birds, and kangaroos at Tredegar House and was a friend of occultist Aleister Crowley.
• Morgan resigned from all his Welsh social roles in 1953, possibly because he was not invited to meet Queen Elizabeth II during a royal visit to Newport.
• He deposited the Morgan family manuscripts and papers to the National Library of Wales, despite allegedly having promised them to Newport Borough Library, which Councillor A. F. Dolman called a 'breech of faith'.