|
John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar
Frederic Charles John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar, OstJ, (26 October 1908 — 17 November 1962), styled the Honourable John Morgan between 1949 and 1954, was a Welsh peer and landowner. His forebears lavish spending and disagreement regarding estate planning meant that on his father's succession to the Morgan titles and estates in 1949, £1,000,000[a] was paid in inheritance tax. Although efforts were made to protect the longevity of the estates, the burden of death-duties was too great, forcing Morgan to liquidate the entirety of the family’s estates. John Morgan's death in 1962 saw failure of the male Morgan bloodline, and the extinction of the Morgan titles, bringing an end to a social and political dynasty that had dominated South East Wales for 500 years.[2] Ancestry and early lifeFrederic Charles John Morgan was born at Boughrood Castle on 26 October 1908 to Frederic George Morgan, 5th Baron Tredegar (then simply Frederic Morgan Esq.) and Dorothy Syssyllt Bassett.[3][4] Through his maternal line, Morgan was a descendent of the ancient Basset family; some of the earliest Norman settlers.[5] Although named after his father, Morgan preferred to be known as John. He was educated at Eton College following family tradition, but did not attend university.[2] It was while studying at Eton, Morgan befriended Alan Pryce-Jones. Pryce-Jones' father nicknamed Morgan "Pinhead", with even Alan conceiving that Morgan was "rather a silly boy".[6][b] 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.[8][9][c] His descendants continued the family's political and social ascent; Charles Morgan becoming a baronet in 1792,[11] and another Charles becoming 1st Baron Tredegar in 1859.[12] His second son, Godfrey Morgan fought in the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War[13][14] and was made Viscount Tredegar in 1905.[15] Never marrying, Godfrey was in turn succeeded by his nephew Courtenay Morgan, for whom the Tredegar viscountcy was revived in 1926.[16] 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.[17][18] Morgan's father never remarried, and his mother died in 1929.[19] As a young man, Morgan joined the military, gaining the rank of 2nd Lieutenant of the 24th London Regiment in 1928.[20] In the early 1930s, Morgan was engaged in writing a novel based on his time living as an expatriate in New Zealand and Australia, before returning to London in 1932.[21][22] The following year he continued writing, spending a number of months in Ceylon with his sister, Avis.[23][24] During the Second World War, Morgan served in Scotland and the Middle East, gaining the rank of officer in the King's Own Scottish Borderers.[25][2] In 1949, Morgan became president of the Newport Athletic Club, and the Bedwellty Agricultural Society.[26][27][28] In 1950, he was promoted as an Officer of The Order of St John, having already been Assistant Almoner for the Priory of Wales for sometime, and elected as an honorary member of the Newport Chamber of Trade.[29][30] InheritanceBetween 1934 and 1949, John Morgan's first cousin, Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar, was head of the Morgan family and occupier of the cherished Tredegar House.[31] Evan spent copiously during his life with a menagerie of bears, birds, and kangeroos 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.[31] Despite marrying twice,[32] Evan was homosexual and died without children leaving his 75 year old uncle Frederic as his heir. Neither John nor his father enjoyed good relations with Evan, and the feeling was mutual.[6] 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 Estates in an attempt to recover it.[2] With Evan refusing to transfer the estate to John, and Frederic refusing Evan's suggestion to sell parts of the estate no agreements were made meaning Frederic inherited the Welsh estates, the barony, the baronetcy and an inheritance tax bill of £1,000,000.[2] Frederic, who described himself as an "arthritis cripple"[33] decided to immediately transfer the entire Welsh estate to his son, John, to avoid the payment of a second set of death-duties on his own demise.[2] Consequently, Morgan inherited a tax-free £1,150,000[d] fortune[2][33] before making a pilgrimage to Lourdes for guidance as to what to do with his inheritance, having converted to Catholicism in 1936.[33][34] At the time, Morgan 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."[35] Following Evan's death, John inherited any contents of the Morgan residences that were considered heirlooms. Any items that were not deemed as such were liable for repossession to pay those to whom Evan was in debt. John Morgan bought the majority of the "non-heirlooms" from his cousin's executors, including the contents of Honeywood House[e], for which he paid £8,837[f], having been valued by Sotheby's.[36] The contents of Honeywood House were moved to Tredegar House, where they would later be sold.[36] Disposal of Morgan estatesTredegar House.jpg) Despite indicating his intention to remain at Tredegar, Morgan spent little time there, with the exception of the occasional gathering, of which the likes of Lord Lloyd and Lord Raglan were in attendance.[37] In his father's final years, Morgan had already begun selling off parts of the once 88,000 acre estate in an attempt to recover the family's lost fortune.[2] In 1950, he announced "with great regret" that death duties, taxation and costs had made it necessary for him to close Tredegar House, and later that year he agreed to sell the house and its remaining 200 acre parkland to the Sisters of St. Joseph for £40,000,[2] asserting that the sale was "good for his bank balance, and his soul".[g] In January 1951, Morgan allowed Dr Iorwerth Peate, keeper-in-charge for St Fagan's Castle, to choose 30 pieces of furniture from Tredegar House for exhibition in the period rooms of the castle.[38] 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.[39] 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.[2] Following the sale, Morgan deposited his family's manuscripts and papers to the National Library of Wales, so that they would be preserved in the event of him dying without an heir, despite allegedly promising them to the Newport Borough Library.[40] Councillor A. F. Dolman described changing the destination of the documents as a "breech of faith".[41] The house was used as a Catholic girls' school until 1974. As of 2025, it is owned by Newport City Council, and managed by the National Trust, via a 50-year-lease agreement.[42] Intentions When Morgan announced that he would sell Tredegar House, he told the press that he "intended to live at Honeywood House, Dorking... and had no intention of breaking his connection with South Wales".[43] However, Morgan allegedly severed all family links to South Wales in 1953, after he failed to receive an invitation to meet Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh during a royal trip to Newport.[44] As a result, Morgan directed two firms to dispose of Honeywood House and its surrounding 172 acres at auction in 1954. The estates' lodges, cottages, and home-farm were sold separately.[45] Honeywood House itself became a convalescent home, run by Mr Sidney Miller, who believed that music could help a patient's recovery, and had one room converted into a "music room".[46] Ruperra Castle Ruperra Castle was the family's weekend hunting lodge, and once home to Morgan's grandfather, Colonel Freddie Morgan. In 1941, the castle had been severely damaged by a fire during the military's control of the property.[47] In his book, Midway on The Waves, James Lees-Milne describes a journey with Morgan to Ruperra, shortly after the Second World War. He wrote, "the Welsh want to buy the castle from John as a memorial to Welshmen killed in the war and vest in the National Trust", adding "I could not see any point in it at all".[48] Despite offers from the National Trust, in 1956 Morgan sold the castle to Eagle Star Insurance Company for around £800,000.[47] Today, it continues to deteriorate.[47] Agricultural estateIn February 1956, it was reported that the 53,000 acre Tredegar agricultural estate was to be sold in a series of auctions overseen by Lane, Saville & Co. It was reported that the estate consisted of housing, shops, banks, offices, docklands in Newport, and 100 tenanted farms.[49] Morgan assured the press that tenants would be given first refusal to buy their lease holdings, and that if a buyer for the entire estate was found prior to the auction, any sale agreements with tenants that had already been arranged would be honoured, adding that "he had hoped the estate might find a buyer as a whole.[50] Shortly afterwards, the firm told the Western Mail that tenants would be given first refusal to buy their lease holdings "where possible"; a contrast to the original statement which suggested that tenants would be given first refusal, absolutely.[50] As a result, Mr W. Watson Cliffe of the Welsh Union of Leasehold Reformers, held a meeting stating that he wished for "Lord Tredegar to keep his promise and offer every tenant the land on which his house stands" adding that "he hoped that within a month his union would boast a thousand members".[51] In November 1956, it was revealed that a 72-year-old woman living in Roath, Cardiff, had been asked by Morgan's agents to pay £515 for her house, despite similar properties having been sold for £100 two months earlier.[52] Cliffe stated that he had "written to Lord Tredegar, but received no response", and that he was "shook" by the incident, having "consistently referred to Morgan's generosity throughout the union's meetings".[52] Morgan's solicitors wrote to Cliffe explaining that "the sale of the freehold was completed some time ago, and it was not possible to re-open negations". Unsatisfied, Cliffe wrote to Lord Tredegar once again asking for a personal interview to discuss the "full-facts" of the situation.[53] With no response, Cliffe petitioned to start an inquery into the case, hoping to gain public support.[54]
Despite argument continuing for several months, by November 1957, Eagle Star Insurance Company had bought the majority of the 53,000 acre agricultural estate and remaining 7000 Monmouthshire town properties, raising around £3,000,000,[55][i] all of which went to the treasury in payment for outstanding death-duties.[56][57][58] Later lifeFollowing the death of his father on 21 August 1954, Morgan succeeded to the family titles becoming the 6th Baron Tredegar and 8th Morgan Baronet.[59] Morgan remained a bachelor until the age of 46. On 19 December 1954, he married Joanna Russell (1910–2000), in London.[60][61][62] The new Lady Tredegar, who went by "Joan", had been married twice previously and Morgan became step-father to three daughters, one from Joanna's first marriage, one from her second marriage to Commander Archibald Russell, and one of her own step-daughters from Russell’s previous marriage.[63][64][65] In 1955, Lord and Lady Tredegar featured in The Tatler, alongside Lady Tredegar's daughter, Bridget, at St. Moritz.[63] The following year Lady Tredegar visited Tredegar House for the first time, accompanied by her husband. They thanked and met retired, former employees.[66] Exile and Death Despite liquidating his Welsh estates and property in lieu of death-duties, Morgan claimed that further taxation forced his decision to emigrate to Monte-Carlo, Monaco, as a tax exile.[66] His sister, the Hon. Syssyllt Gurney took residence at his previous home, 16 Randolph Crescent in Edinburgh.[67][68] In Monaco, he pursued his interest in art, having studied under Leonard Fuller at St Ives School, and produced several works which are now owned by the National Trust and displayed in Tredegar House.[69] He also enjoyed yachting and golf.[70] In 1959, Morgan embarked on a 2000-mile journey on his motor-yacht, the Henry Morgan, which named after his distant ancestor, Sir Henry Morgan. While just off Bermuda, the Henry Morgan became at risk of sinking, faced with 25ft waves. Lord Tredegar allegedly went below-deck asserting, "there is nothing I can do about it; wake me when the fuss is over".[70][71] A year prior, while aboard the Henry Morgan, Lady Tredegar's step-daughter, Judith Russell, met her future husband, Jeannot Graziglia, while he was working as a deck-hand for Lord Tredegar.[64] They were married in 1961.[64][72] In 1962, Morgan became ill with chronic pancreatitis, and returned to London as he did not trust the local doctors. On 10 October, he was successfully operated on at Middlesex Hospital, but contracted septacemia shortly after; subsequently being relocated to St George's Hospital. Morgan failed to recover, and died without issue on 17 November 1962, aged 54.[73] Morgan left estates with a net value of £309,580,[j] donating £500[k] to the Church of The Immaculate Conception in his will.[74] Morgan also specified for his funeral to be carried out in the "simplest manner", wishing for any money that would have been spent on flowers to be donated to the Catholic Church or charity.[75] Morgan's wife went on to donate around thirty portraits of the Morgans to Tredegar House as well as her husband's own works, many of which are now on display at Tredegar House .[76][55] As Morgan died childless, the male Morgan bloodline failed, along with the titles it carried, bringing an end to a dynasty that had existed in South Wales for some 500 years.[2] References and notes
SourcesBooks
Website
Information related to John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar |
||||||||||||||||||||
