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Draft:John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar

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The Right Honourable
Frederic Charles John Morgan
2nd Lt, Bt, Bar
Lord Tredegar with his wife and step-daughter at St. Moritz 1955
Born26 October 1908
Died17 November 1962
Title6th Baron Tredegar, 8th Morgan baronet
Partner(s)Joanna Russell, (m. 1954)
Parents
  • Frederic George Morgan, 5th Baron Tredegar (father)
  • Lady Dorothy Syssyllt Morgan (mother)
RelativesHon. Syssyllt Avis Gurney, (sister) Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar, (cousin)

Frederic Charles John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar (26 October 1908 — 17 November 1962), was a Welsh peer and landowner. On 21 August 1954, he succeeded to the titles of 6th Baron Tredegar and 8th Baronet following the death of his father, Frederic George Morgan, 5th Baron Tredegar. His own death in 1962 saw the extinction of the Tredegar barony and the Morgan baronetcy and his previous liquidation of the entirety of his family's Welsh estates brought to an end a social and political dynasty that had dominated South East Wales for 500 years.

Ancestors[edit]

Main article: Baron Tredegar


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.[1][2] His descendants continued the family's political and social ascent; Charles Morgan becoming a baronet in 1792,[3] and another Charles becoming 1st Baron Tredegar in 1859.[4] His second son, Godfrey Morgan fought in the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War[5][6] and was made 1st Viscount Tredegar in 1905.[7] Never marrying, Godfrey was in turn succeeded by his nephew Courtenay Morgan, and the Tredegar viscountcy was revived in his favour in 1926.[8] Evan Morgan succeeded his father in 1934. Having no children of his own, his heir was his uncle, Frederic Morgan, father of John.[9]

Early life[edit]

Frederic Charles John Morgan was born on 26 October 1908 to Frederic Morgan, 5th Baron Tredegar and Lady Dorothy Syssyllt Bassett.[a][11][12] Named after his father, whose nickname for him was "Pinhead", Morgan preferred to be known as John.[9] Following family tradition, he was educated at Eton College but did not attend university. In World War II he fought in the Middle East between 1939 and 1945, gaining the rank of 2nd Lieutenant of the 24th London Regiment and officer of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers.[13][14]

Inheritance[edit]

Evan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar, died without children in 1949. His life was unconventional; despite his homosexuality, he married twice;[15] enjoyed a long friendship with the occultist Aleister Crowley;[16] and spent extravagantly.[14] While his relationship with his uncle Frederic was poor, he and his cousin, John, loathed each other.[14][17] Evan also failed to undertake any estate planning prior to his death, and his uncle inherited the Welsh estates, the barony, the baronetcy and an inheritance tax bill of £1,000,000.[14][b]

Frederic, who described himself as an "arthritis cripple"[19] 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.[14] This occurred in 1954 and John Morgan inherited a £1,150,000 fortune without liability of tax.[14] At the time, John told the Western Mail that he was prepared to live at Tredegar Park on "a very modest scale in view of the prevailing conditions". As a recent Catholic convert, Morgan went to Lourdes for guidance as to what to do with his inheritance.[19]

Disposal of Tredegar House[edit]

Main article: Tredegar House
North-western façade of Tredegar House

Despite indicating his intention to remain at Tredegar, Morgan spent little time there during his ownership. In his father's final years, he had already begun selling off parts of the once 88,000 acre estate, reducing it to just 91 acres in an attempt to recover the family's lost fortune.[14] In 1950, he announced "with great regret" that death duties, taxation and costs had made it necessary for him to close Tredegar House, and in December 1950, he agreed to sell the house and its estate to the Nuns of St. Joseph for £40,000,[14] asserting that the sale was "good for his bank balance, and his soul".[c] Morgan directed Stephenson & Alexander, a firm of auctioneers, to dispose of the contents of the house in sales on 11-12 July 1951.[20] 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.[14]

The house was used as a Catholic girls' school until 1974. Today it is owned by Newport City Council, and managed by the National Trust, via a 50-year-lease agreement.[21]

Disposal of the remaining Welsh estates[edit]

Ruperra Castle in 2001

In 1956 Morgan sold the family's second seat and weekend hunting lodge, Ruperra Castle, to the Eagle Star Insurance Company for around £35,000.[22][d] The castle had been damaged by its second fire during the military's control of the property throughout World War II. Today, it continues to deteriorate.[22] By this time the entire remaining 53,000 acre, Tredegar, Ruperra and agricultural Morgan Estates had been sold, a process allegedly accelerated by Morgan's decision to sever all family links to South Wales after he failed to receive an invitation to meet Queen Elizabeth II during a royal trip to Newport.[14]

Marriage[edit]

Morgan remained a bachelor until the age of 46. On 21 December 1954, he married Joanna Russell, in London.[23] The new Lady Tredegar had been married twice previously and Morgan became step-father to two daughters, one from each of Joanna's marriages. In 1955 Lord and Lady Tredegar featured in The Tatler, alongside Lady Tredegar's daughter, Bridget at St. Moritz.[24] The following year Lady Tredegar visited Tredegar House for the first time, accompanied by her husband. They thanked staff working at the house and met retired, former employees.[25]

Exile and death[edit]

Vase, John Morgan, 1960

Morgan first moved to Edinburgh, but quickly changed his mind, choosing to spend married life in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, as a tax exile.[26] Here, he pursued his passion for art, producing several works which are now owned by the National Trust and displayed in Tredegar House. He also enjoyed yachting and golf.[13]

In 1962, he became ill, and returned to the Middlesex Hospital in London as he did not trust the local doctors.[9] Although the operation was successful, he succumbed to septacemia, and died suddenly and without issue, aged 54.[14] On his death, his wife donated more family portraits and some of John's artwork to the nuns of St. Joseph, in his memory.[e] The works include a portrait of her husband, by Leonard Fuller and dating from 1950, which is on display at Tredegar House.[28] As neither Morgan nor his sister, the Hon. Syssyllt Avis Gurney (neé. Morgan), had children, his death marked the extinction of the Morgan baronetcy and the Barony of Tredegar, bringing to an end a dynasty that had existed in South Wales for some 500 years.[14]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ The Tredegar Estate was located in the historic county of Monmouthshire but local government reorganisation in 1994 placed the estate in the county borough of Newport.[10]
  2. ^ £1,000,000 in 1949 equates to approximately £44,627,000 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.[18]
  3. ^ £40,000 in 1950 equates to approximately £1,731,000 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.[18]
  4. ^ £35,000 in 1956 equates to approximately £1,103,000 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.[18]
  5. ^ Two photographic portraits of John Morgan, by the Bassano Studio and dating from 1949, are held at the National Portrait Gallery, London.[27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "William Morgan, c.1640-1680, of Tredegar, Machen, Monmouthshire". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Morgan Family of Tredegar Park, Monmouthshire". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  3. ^ "No. 13471". The London Gazette. 27 October 1792. p. 813.
  4. ^ "No. 22248". The London Gazette. 12 April 1859. p. 1482.
  5. ^ "The Charge of the Light Brigade, the Battle of Balaclava, 25th October 1854 with Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar (1831 - 1913) astride his Horse, 'Sir Briggs' – Item NT1553541". National Trust. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Sir Briggs, horse of Lord Tredegar, 17th Lancers, ridden at Balaklava, 1854, in camp in the Crimea, 1854". National Army Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. ^ "No. 27871". The London Gazette. 5 January 1906. p. 107.
  8. ^ "No. 33190". The London Gazette. 10 August 1926. p. 5288.
  9. ^ a b c Tredegar House and the Morgan Family, Part 4: End of the Line. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  10. ^ "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 c. 19, s. 1(1)". 5 July 1994.
  11. ^ "Tredegar Estate Records". National Library of Wales. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Mrs Gordon-Canning and Mrs Avis Gurney Papers". Gwent County Records Office. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Frederic Charles John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar (26 Oct. 1908–17 Nov. 1962)". Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Povey, Tomos (4 November 2017). "The last Lord of Tredegar, who avoided paying millions and sold Tredegar House". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  15. ^ Taylor 2007, p. 232.
  16. ^ "Evan Morgan of Tredegar House". BBC. 30 December 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  17. ^ Busby 2013, p. ?.
  18. ^ a b c Clark 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Baron Renounced His Inheritance". The Yorkshire Observer. 23 August 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "For Sale By Auction". Western Mail & South Wales News. 9 July 1951. p. 6. Retrieved 11 May 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ Fisher, Daniel (3 December 2011). "National Trust to take Tredegar to 'new stage in its long history". Wales Online. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  22. ^ a b "History of the Castle". Ruperra Castle - Castell Rhiw'r Perrai. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  23. ^ "The marriage". Birmingham Daily Post. 22 December 1954. p. 5. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  24. ^ "Along The Snowy Paths of The Engadine". The Tatler. 16 February 1955. p. 10. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Farewell With Flowers". Western Mail & South Wales News. 23 April 1956. p. 5. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  26. ^ "New peer's home is in Edinburgh". Edinburgh Evening News. 23 August 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ "Frederic Charles John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar". National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  28. ^ "John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar (1908–1962) – Item 1553690". National Trust. Retrieved 10 June 2024.

Sources[edit]

Books[edit]

Website[edit]

Category:1908 births Category:1962 deaths Category:People educated at Eton College Category:British Army personnel of World War II

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