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'''Frederic Charles John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar''', [[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|OstJ]], [[Royal Yacht Squadron|RYS]], (26 October 1908 — 17 November 1962), styled the [[The Honourable|Honourable]] John Morgan between 1949 and 1954, was a [[Welsh peers and baronets|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 their future was uncertain, and £1,000,000{{efn|£1,000,000 in 1949 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|1,000,000|1949|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}} was to be paid in [[Inheritance tax in the United Kingdom|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.<ref name=":0" />
'''Frederic Charles John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar''', [[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|OstJ]], [[Royal Yacht Squadron|RYS]], (26 October 1908 — 17 November 1962), styled the [[The Honourable|Honourable]] John Morgan between 1949 and 1954, was a [[Welsh peers and baronets|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 their future was uncertain, and £1,000,000{{efn|£1,000,000 in 1949 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|1,000,000|1949|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}} was to be paid in [[Inheritance tax in the United Kingdom|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.<ref name=":0" />


==Ancestry and early life==
==Ancestry and early life==
Frederic Charles John Morgan was born at Boughrood Castle on 26 October 1908 to [[Frederic Morgan, 5th Baron Tredegar|Frederic George Morgan, 5th Baron Tredegar]] (then simply Frederic Morgan [[Esquire|Esq.]]) and Dorothy Syssyllt Bassett.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tredegar Estate Records |publisher=[[National Library of Wales]] |url=https://archives.library.wales/index.php/tredegar-estate-records |access-date=1 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mrs Gordon-Canning and Mrs Avis Gurney Papers |url=https://gwentarchives.gov.uk/media/raxnvazt/d6206-gordon-canning-mrs-and-gurney-mrs-avis-papers-letters.html |publisher=Gwent County Records Office |access-date=1 March 2024}}</ref> Through his maternal line, Morgan was a descendent of the ancient [[Basset family|Basset]] family; some of the earliest Norman settlers.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 November 1903 |title=Death of Mr R. Thustan Bassett |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19031128/162/0006 |url-access=subscription |access-date=21 January 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=6}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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".<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Pryce-Jones |first=Alan |title=The Bonus of Laughter |year=1987 |publisher=Faber & Faber Limited |isbn=978-0571296187}}</ref>{{efn|Pryce-Jones was also best man at the wedding of Morgan's sister, Syssyllt, and a friend of his cousin, Evan Morgan.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 July 1926 |title=Lord Tredegar's Niece Weds |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19260712/169/0008 |url-access=subscription |access-date=6 January 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=8}}</ref>}}
Frederic Charles John Morgan was born at Boughrood Castle on 26 October 1908 to [[Frederic Morgan, 5th Baron Tredegar|Frederic George Morgan, 5th Baron Tredegar]] (then simply Frederic Morgan [[Esquire|Esq.]]) and Dorothy Syssyllt Bassett.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tredegar Estate Records |publisher=[[National Library of Wales]] |url=https://archives.library.wales/index.php/tredegar-estate-records |access-date=1 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mrs Gordon-Canning and Mrs Avis Gurney Papers |url=https://gwentarchives.gov.uk/media/raxnvazt/d6206-gordon-canning-mrs-and-gurney-mrs-avis-papers-letters.html |publisher=Gwent County Records Office |access-date=1 March 2024}}</ref> Through his maternal line, Morgan was a descendent of the ancient [[Basset family|Basset]] family; some of the earliest Norman settlers.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 November 1903 |title=Death of Mr R. Thustan Bassett |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19031128/162/0006 |url-access=subscription |access-date=21 January 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=6}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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".{{sfn|Pryce-Jones|1987|p=29}}{{efn|Pryce-Jones was also best man at the wedding of Morgan's sister, Syssyllt, and a friend of his cousin, Evan Morgan.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 July 1926 |title=Lord Tredegar's Niece Weds |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19260712/169/0008 |url-access=subscription |access-date=6 January 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=8}}</ref>}}


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 (of Machen and Tredegar)|William Morgan]], who was a politician, and acquired substantial landholdings throughout [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]], [[Glamorganshire]] and [[Breconshire]].<ref>{{cite web |title=William Morgan, c.1640-1680, of Tredegar, Machen, Monmouthshire |url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/morgan-william-1640-80 |access-date=10 June 2024 |publisher=History of Parliament Online}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite web |title=Morgan Family of Tredegar Park, Monmouthshire |url=https://biography.wales/article/s-MORG-TRE-1384 |access-date=10 June 2024 |publisher=Dictionary of Welsh Biography}}</ref>{{efn|[[Tredegar House|The Tredegar Estate]] was located in the historic county of [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]] but local government reorganisation in 1994 placed the estate in the [[Principal area|county borough]] of [[Newport, Wales|Newport]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/19/part/I/crossheading/the-new-areas-and-their-councils/enacted|date=5 July 1994|title=Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 c. 19, s. 1(1)}}</ref>}} His descendants continued the family's political and social ascent; [[Sir Charles Morgan, 1st Baronet|Charles Morgan]] becoming a [[baronet]] in 1792,<ref>{{London Gazette
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 (of Machen and Tredegar)|William Morgan]], who was a politician, and acquired substantial landholdings throughout [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]], [[Glamorganshire]] and [[Breconshire]].<ref>{{cite web |title=William Morgan, c.1640-1680, of Tredegar, Machen, Monmouthshire |url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/morgan-william-1640-80 |access-date=10 June 2024 |publisher=History of Parliament Online}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite web |title=Morgan Family of Tredegar Park, Monmouthshire |url=https://biography.wales/article/s-MORG-TRE-1384 |access-date=10 June 2024 |publisher=Dictionary of Welsh Biography}}</ref>{{efn|[[Tredegar House|The Tredegar Estate]] was located in the historic county of [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]] but local government reorganisation in 1994 placed the estate in the [[Principal area|county borough]] of [[Newport, Wales|Newport]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/19/part/I/crossheading/the-new-areas-and-their-councils/enacted|date=5 July 1994|title=Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 c. 19, s. 1(1)}}</ref>}} His descendants continued the family's political and social ascent; [[Sir Charles Morgan, 1st Baronet|Charles Morgan]] becoming a [[baronet]] in 1792,<ref>{{London Gazette
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}}</ref> [[Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar|Evan Morgan]] succeeded his father in 1934. Having no children of his own, his heir was his uncle, Frederic Morgan, father of John.
}}</ref> [[Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar|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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 October 1922 |title=Welsh Divorce Echo: Motion By Brother of Lord Tredegar |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19221024/099/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 October 1922 |title=Sequel To Local Divorce Case |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002867/19221026/032/0002 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=Brecon County Times |pages=2}}</ref> Morgan's father never remarried, and his mother died in 1929.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 November 1929 |title=Local Will |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000514/19291130/015/0004 |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 July 2024 |work=Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette |pages=4}}</ref> As a young man, Morgan joined the military, gaining the rank of 2nd Lieutenant of the 24th London Regiment in 1928.<ref>{{London Gazette
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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 October 1922 |title=Welsh Divorce Echo: Motion By Brother of Lord Tredegar |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19221024/099/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 October 1922 |title=Sequel To Local Divorce Case |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002867/19221026/032/0002 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=Brecon County Times |pages=2}}</ref> Morgan's father never remarried, and his mother died in 1929.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 November 1929 |title=Local Will |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000514/19291130/015/0004 |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 July 2024 |work=Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette |pages=4}}</ref> Morgan joined the [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]], becoming a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[24th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (The Queen's)|24th Battalion, London Regiment]], on 19 December 1927, resigning from the post on 19 February 1930.<ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 33344
| issue = 33344
| date = 3 January 1929
| date = 3 January 1928
| page = 47
| page = 47
}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 February 1932 |title=Welsh Author Lived In New Zealand Wilds |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/STEP19320208.2.24?end_date=31-12-1932&items_per_page=10&query=Viscount+Tredegar&snippet=true&start_date=01-01-1930 |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=Stratford Evening Post |pages=5 |publication-place=New Zealand |volume=1 |issue=259}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 January 1932 |title=An Etonian |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230521503?searchTerm=Mr%20John%20Morgan%20Viscount%20Tredegar |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=The Sun |location=Australia |pages=1}}</ref> The following year he continued writing, spending a number of months in [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]] with his sister, Avis.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 January 1933 |title=Social and Personal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19330116/226/0009 |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 April 1933 |title=Social and Personal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19330422/257/0009 |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=9}}</ref>
}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33580|page=1053|date=18 February 1930}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 February 1932 |title=Welsh Author Lived In New Zealand Wilds |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/STEP19320208.2.24?end_date=31-12-1932&items_per_page=10&query=Viscount+Tredegar&snippet=true&start_date=01-01-1930 |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=Stratford Evening Post |pages=5 |publication-place=New Zealand |volume=1 |issue=259}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 January 1932 |title=An Etonian |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230521503?searchTerm=Mr%20John%20Morgan%20Viscount%20Tredegar |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=The Sun |location=Australia |pages=1}}</ref> The following year he continued writing, spending a number of months in [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]] with his sister, Avis.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 January 1933 |title=Social and Personal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19330116/226/0009 |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 April 1933 |title=Social and Personal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19330422/257/0009 |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=9}}</ref>


During the [[World War II|Second World War]], Morgan served in [[Scotland]] and the [[Middle East]], gaining the rank of officer in the [[King's Own Scottish Borderers]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 January 1940 |title=Scottish Military Changes |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19400110/028/0002 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 January 2025 |work=Aberdeen Press and Journal |pages=2}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/15641212.the-last-lord-of-tredegar-who-avoided-paying-millions-sold-tredegar-house-and-lived-as-a-tax-exile-in-monte-carlo/|first=Tomos|last=Povey|title=The last Lord of Tredegar, who avoided paying millions and sold Tredegar House|work=South Wales Argus|date=4 November 2017|access-date=1 March 2024}}</ref> In 1949, Morgan became president of the Newport Athletic Club, and the Bedwellty Agricultural Society.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 July 1949 |title=Family Affair |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004700/19490709/005/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 October 2024 |work=Herald of Wales |pages=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 September 1949 |title=Bedwellty Society Show |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002970/19490903/118/0015 |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 October 2024 |work=Merthyr Express |pages=15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 September 1949 |title=Bedwellty Agricultural Society |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19490903/048/0002 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=2}}</ref> In 1950, he was promoted as an [[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|Officer of The Order of St John]], having already been Assistant Almoner for the [[St John Ambulance Cymru|Priory of Wales]] for sometime, and elected as an honorary member of the Newport Chamber of Trade.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 January 1950 |title=Order of St. John Awards |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19500104/052/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 May 1950 |title=Social & Personal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19500503/101/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 August 2024 |work=Western Mali & South Wales News |pages=5}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=150|supp=y|issue=34768|date=5 January 1940}}</ref> Morgan served in [[Scotland]] and the [[Middle East]], joining the [[Reconnaissance Corps]] on 14 January 1941.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 January 1940 |title=Scottish Military Changes |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19400110/028/0002 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 January 2025 |work=Aberdeen Press and Journal |pages=2}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/15641212.the-last-lord-of-tredegar-who-avoided-paying-millions-sold-tredegar-house-and-lived-as-a-tax-exile-in-monte-carlo/|first=Tomos|last=Povey|title=The last Lord of Tredegar, who avoided paying millions and sold Tredegar House|work=South Wales Argus|date=4 November 2017|access-date=1 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35259|supp=y|date=26 August 1941|page=5009}}</ref> Morgan transferred back to the KOSB on 29 September 1943 as a [[lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36186|supp=y|page=4297|date=24 September 1943}}</ref> With the war over, Morgan resigned his commission on 19 November 1945, being granted the honorary rank of [[captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]].<ref>{{London Gazette|page=4894|date=27 September 1946|issue=37742|supp=y}}</ref> In 1949, Morgan became president of the Newport Athletic Club, and the Bedwellty Agricultural Society.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 July 1949 |title=Family Affair |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004700/19490709/005/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 October 2024 |work=Herald of Wales |pages=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 September 1949 |title=Bedwellty Society Show |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002970/19490903/118/0015 |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 October 2024 |work=Merthyr Express |pages=15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 September 1949 |title=Bedwellty Agricultural Society |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19490903/048/0002 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=2}}</ref> In 1950, he was promoted as an [[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|Officer of The Order of St John]], having already been Assistant Almoner for the [[St John Ambulance Cymru|Priory of Wales]] for sometime, and elected as an honorary member of the Newport Chamber of Trade.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 January 1950 |title=Order of St. John Awards |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19500104/052/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 May 1950 |title=Social & Personal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19500503/101/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 August 2024 |work=Western Mali & South Wales News |pages=5}}</ref>


==Inheritance==
==Inheritance==
[[File:John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar.png|thumb|376x376px|Morgan in 1949]]
[[File:John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar.png|thumb|376x376px|Morgan in 1949]]
Between 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]].<ref name=":10">{{cite web |date=30 December 2010 |title=Evan Morgan of Tredegar House |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/58b3be05-87b7-3fca-b511-2c9c24bc61a8 |access-date=20 November 2016 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> 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|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]].<ref name=":10" /> Despite marrying twice,{{sfn|Taylor|2007|p=232}} 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.<ref name=":5" />
Between 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]].<ref name=":10">{{cite web |date=30 December 2010 |title=Evan Morgan of Tredegar House |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/58b3be05-87b7-3fca-b511-2c9c24bc61a8 |access-date=20 November 2016 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> 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|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]].<ref name=":10" /> Despite marrying twice,{{sfn|Taylor|2007|p=232}} 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.{{sfn|Pryce-Jones|1987|p=30}}


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.<ref name=":0" /> 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 [[Baron Tredegar|barony]], the [[Morgan baronets|baronetcy]] and an inheritance tax bill of £1,000,000.<ref name=":0" />
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 the lost capital.<ref name=":0" /> With Evan refusing to transfer the any of 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 [[Baron Tredegar|barony]], the [[Morgan baronets|baronetcy]] and an inheritance tax bill of £1,000,000.<ref name=":0" />


Frederic, who described himself as an "arthritis cripple"<ref name=":3" /> 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; consequently, Morgan inherited a tax-free £1,150,000{{efn|£1,150,000 in 1949 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|1,150,000|1949|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}}
Frederic, who described himself as an "arthritis cripple",<ref name=":3" /> 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; consequently, Morgan inherited a tax-free £1,150,000{{efn|£1,150,000 in 1949 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|1,150,000|1949|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}}
fortune.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":3" /> As a recent [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] convert, Morgan made a pilgrimage to Lourdes for guidance as for what to do with his fortune and family estates.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=23 August 1954 |title=Baron Renounced His Inheritance |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003150/19540823/041/0003 |url-access=subscription|access-date=11 May 2024 |work=The Yorkshire Observer |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=23 October 1937 |title=Distinguished Convert |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004159/19371023/113/0006 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=Irish Weekly and Ulster Examiner |pages=6}}</ref> At the time, Morgan told the ''[[Western Mail (Wales)|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 [[Osteoarthritis|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."<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 May 1949 |title=Tredegar Park To Be Family Home |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19490525/006/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 January 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=1}}</ref>
fortune.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":3" /> As a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] convert, Morgan made a pilgrimage to Lourdes for guidance as for what to do with his fortune and family estates.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=23 August 1954 |title=Baron Renounced His Inheritance |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003150/19540823/041/0003 |url-access=subscription|access-date=11 May 2024 |work=The Yorkshire Observer |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=23 October 1937 |title=Distinguished Convert |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004159/19371023/113/0006 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=Irish Weekly and Ulster Examiner |pages=6}}</ref> At the time, Morgan told the ''[[Western Mail (Wales)|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 [[Osteoarthritis|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."<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 May 1949 |title=Tredegar Park To Be Family Home |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19490525/006/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 January 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=1}}</ref>


Following Evan's death, John inherited any contents of the Morgan residences that were considered [[heirloom]]s. 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{{efn|Honeywood House was Evan Morgan's second residence, in [[Dorking]], England. It was the primary residence of Evan's mother, Katherine, as she did not enjoy good relations with her husband, [[Courtenay Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar| Courtenay]]. Both Evan and Katherine died there in 1949.}}, for which he paid £8,837{{efn|£8,837 in 1949 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|8,837|1949|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}}, having been valued by [[Sotheby's]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Cross |first=William |title=Viscount Tredegar: The Final Affairs |date=30 October 2014 |publisher=Book Midden Publishing |isbn=978-1-905914-23-4 |location=58 Sutton Road, Newport, United Kingdom |pages=124–125}}</ref> The contents of Honeywood House were moved to Tredegar House, where they would later be sold.<ref name=":6" />
Following Evan's death, John inherited any contents of the Morgan residences that were considered [[heirloom]]s. 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{{efn|Honeywood House was Evan Morgan's second residence, in [[Dorking]], England. It was the primary residence of Evan's mother, Katherine, as she did not enjoy good relations with her husband, [[Courtenay Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar| Courtenay]]. Both Evan and Katherine died there in 1949.}}, for which he paid £8,837{{efn|£8,837 in 1949 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|8,837|1949|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}}, having been valued by [[Sotheby's]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Cross |first=William |title=Viscount Tredegar: The Final Affairs |date=30 October 2014 |publisher=Book Midden Publishing |isbn=978-1-905914-23-4 |location=58 Sutton Road, Newport, United Kingdom |pages=124–125}}</ref> The contents of Honeywood House were moved to Tredegar House, where they would later be sold.<ref name=":6" />
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[[File:Tredegar House 1 (16984431737).jpg|thumb|261x261px|North-western façade of Tredegar House]]
[[File:Tredegar House 1 (16984431737).jpg|thumb|261x261px|North-western façade of Tredegar House]]
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 [[Alexander Lloyd, 2nd Baron Lloyd|Lord Lloyd]] and Lord Raglan were in attendance.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 October 1949 |title=Social & Personal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19491010/070/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=3}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0"/> In 1949 he considered donating the house to the [[National Trust]] but did not proceed with the plan.{{sfn|Lees-Milne|2009|p=131}}{{efn|While John Morgan did not take forward his plans to donate the house, Lees-Milne nevertheless recorded his views of the house's importance, and of Morgan himself, when he visited Tredegar as secretary of the [[National Trust]]'s Country House Committee in 1949; "Was met by John Morgan, flying his personal flag on the radiator of his motor, and driven to Tredegar. He is absurdly pompous and puffed up with self-importance, yet has a genuine sense of duty, and his religion means everything to him. We spent the afternoon going round the house. Now, it ''is'' important and probably the best in Wales. Nevertheless, I was a trifle disappointed by the coarse, unrefined quality of the craftsmanship".{{sfn|Lees-Milne|2009|p=131}}}} 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,<ref name=":0"/> asserting that the sale was "good for his bank balance, and his soul".{{efn|£40,000 in 1950 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|40,000|1950|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}} In January 1951, Morgan allowed Dr Iorwerth Peate, keeper-in-charge for [[St Fagans Castle|St Fagan's Castle]], to choose 30 pieces of furniture from Tredegar House for exhibition in the period rooms of the castle.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 January 1951 |title=Tredegar House Furniture For Museum |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19510124/039/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 August 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=3}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 July 1951 |title=For Sale By Auction |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19510709/077/0006 |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 May 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=6}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0"/> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Evan David |date=2001 |title=MORGAN, EVAN FREDERIC (1893 - 1949), 2nd VISCOUNT TREDEGAR, poet, artist, soldier, and statesman |url=https://biography.wales/pdf/s2-MORG-FRE-1893.pdf |access-date=22 July 2024 |website=The Dictionary of Welsh Biography}}</ref> Councillor A. F. Dolman described changing the destination of the documents as a "breech of faith".<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 April 1951 |title=Ancient Documents of Gwent, Being Sent To Aberystwyth |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19510420/033/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 August 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=3}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/national-trust-take-tredegar-new-1799140#ixzz1fgpCX8kZ|first=Daniel|last=Fisher|title=National Trust to take Tredegar to 'new stage in its long history|work=Wales Online|date=3 December 2011|access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref>
Despite indicating his intention to remain at Tredegar, Morgan spent little time there, with the exception of the occasional social gathering.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 October 1949 |title=Social & Personal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19491010/070/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=3}}</ref> In his father's final years, Morgan had already begun selling off parts of the once {{Convert | 88000 | acre | adj = on}} estate in an attempt to recover the family's lost fortune.<ref name=":0"/> In 1949 he considered donating the house to the [[National Trust]] but did not proceed with the plan.{{sfn|Lees-Milne|2009|p=131}}{{efn|While John Morgan did not take forward his plans to donate the house, Lees-Milne nevertheless recorded his views of the house's importance, and of Morgan himself, when he visited Tredegar as secretary of the [[National Trust]]'s Country House Committee in 1949; "Was met by John Morgan, flying his personal flag on the radiator of his motor, and driven to Tredegar. He is absurdly pompous and puffed up with self-importance, yet has a genuine sense of duty, and his religion means everything to him. We spent the afternoon going round the house. Now, it ''is'' important and probably the best in Wales. Nevertheless, I was a trifle disappointed by the coarse, unrefined quality of the craftsmanship".{{sfn|Lees-Milne|2009|p=131}}}} 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 {{Convert | 200 | acre | adj = on | sigfig = 1}} parkland to the Sisters of St. Joseph for £40,000,<ref name=":0"/> asserting that the sale was "good for his bank balance, and his soul".{{efn|£40,000 in 1950 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|40,000|1950|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}} In January 1951, Morgan allowed Dr Iorwerth Peate, keeper-in-charge for [[St Fagans Castle|St Fagan's Castle]], to choose 30 pieces of furniture from Tredegar House for exhibition in the period rooms of the castle.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 January 1951 |title=Tredegar House Furniture For Museum |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19510124/039/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 August 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=3}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 July 1951 |title=For Sale By Auction |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19510709/077/0006 |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 May 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=6}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0"/> Following the sale, Morgan deposited the majority of 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Evan David |date=2001 |title=MORGAN, EVAN FREDERIC (1893 - 1949), 2nd VISCOUNT TREDEGAR, poet, artist, soldier, and statesman |url=https://biography.wales/pdf/s2-MORG-FRE-1893.pdf |access-date=22 July 2024 |website=The Dictionary of Welsh Biography}}</ref> Councillor A. F. Dolman described changing the destination of the documents as a "breech of faith".<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 April 1951 |title=Ancient Documents of Gwent, Being Sent To Aberystwyth |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19510420/033/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 August 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=3}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/national-trust-take-tredegar-new-1799140#ixzz1fgpCX8kZ|first=Daniel|last=Fisher|title=National Trust to take Tredegar to 'new stage in its long history|work=Wales Online|date=3 December 2011|access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref>


=== Intentions ===
=== Intentions ===
[[File:Oakwood-House-300x225.jpg|thumb|Honeywood House, then Oakwood House,{{efn|The property was renamed by John Morgan's aunt, Katherine Morgan (née [[Earl of Southesk|Carnegie]]), Viscountess Tredegar, c.1914.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://honeywoodhouse.co.uk/history/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Honeywood House |language=en-US}}</ref>}} etched by [[Ernest George|Sir Ernest George]], in 1898.]]
[[File:Honeywood House 1954.png|thumb|265x265px|Honeywood House featured in a 1954 issue of [[Country Life (magazine)|''Country Life'']], where it was advertised prior to Morgan's disposal of the house and surrounding estate.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 June 1954 |title=Honeywood House Estate, Rowhook |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/9900007/19540624/008/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=7 April 2025 |work=[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]] |pages=2049}}</ref>]]
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".<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 August 1950 |title=Tredegar Park To Be Closed |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000038/19500811/119/0004 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 August 2024 |work=Belfast Newsletter |pages=4}}</ref> However, Morgan allegedly severed all family links to [[South Wales]] in 1953, after he failed to receive an invitation to meet [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] and the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]] during a royal trip to [[Newport, Wales|Newport]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 September 1953 |title=Puzzle of Hon. John |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000729/19530927/001/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=9 August 2024 |work=The People |pages=1}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 June 1954 |title=Dorking |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 August 2024 |work=West Sussex Gazette & South of England Advertiser |pages=11}}</ref> Honeywood House itself became a [[Convalescence|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".<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 April 1955 |title=Music Therapy |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk |access-date=2 August 2024 |work=Worthing Gazette |pages=5}}</ref>
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".<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 August 1950 |title=Tredegar Park To Be Closed |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000038/19500811/119/0004 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 August 2024 |work=Belfast Newsletter |pages=4}}</ref> However, in 1953, Morgan suddenly resigned from all of his social roles, seemingly severing his links with South Wales. At the time it was suggested that this could have been due to the fact that Morgan had failed to receive an invitation to meet [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] and the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]] during a royal visit to Newport earlier in the year, despite him being one of the largest landowners in the area.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 September 1953 |title=Puzzle of Hon. John |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000729/19530927/001/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=9 August 2024 |work=The People |pages=1}}</ref> This factor, coupled with crippling death-duties forcing Morgan to become a [[Tax exile|tax-exile]] in [[Monte Carlo|Monaco]], resulted in him directing two firms to dispose of Honeywood House and its surrounding {{Convert | 172 | acre}} at auction in 1954. The estates' lodges, cottages, and home-farm were sold separately.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 June 1954 |title=Dorking |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 August 2024 |work=West Sussex Gazette & South of England Advertiser |pages=11}}</ref> Honeywood House itself became a [[Convalescence|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".<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 April 1955 |title=Music Therapy |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk |access-date=2 August 2024 |work=Worthing Gazette |pages=5}}</ref>
=== Ruperra Castle ===
=== Ruperra Castle ===
{{main|Ruperra Castle}}[[File:Ruperra Castle.jpg|thumb|Ruperra Castle in 2001|199x199px]]
{{main|Ruperra Castle}}[[File:Ruperra Castle.jpg|thumb|Ruperra Castle in 2001|199x199px]]
Ruperra Castle was the family's weekend hunting lodge, and once home to Morgan's grandfather, [[Frederick Courtenay Morgan|Colonel Freddie Morgan]]. In 1941, the castle had been severely damaged by a fire during the military's control of the property.<ref name=":2" /> 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".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lees-Milne |first=James |title=Midway on The Waves |date=28 October 1985 |publisher=[[Faber & Faber]] |isbn=978-0571137237 |edition=1st |language=en}}</ref> Despite offers from the National Trust, in 1956 Morgan sold the castle to [[Eagle Star Insurance|Eagle Star Insurance Company]] for around £800,000 in today's money.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=History of the Castle |url=https://www.ruperracastle.wales/history.html |access-date=2 March 2024|publisher=Ruperra Castle - Castell Rhiw'r Perrai}}</ref> Today, it continues to deteriorate.<ref name=":2" />
Ruperra Castle was the family's weekend hunting lodge, and once home to Morgan's grandfather, [[Frederick Courtenay Morgan|Colonel Freddie Morgan]]. In 1941, the castle had been severely damaged by a fire during the military's control of the property.<ref name=":2" /> 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".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lees-Milne |first=James |title=Midway on The Waves |date=28 October 1985 |publisher=[[Faber & Faber]] |isbn=978-0571137237 |edition=1st |language=en}}</ref> Despite offers from the National Trust, in 1956 Morgan sold the castle and a few acres of surrounding land to [[Eagle Star Insurance|Eagle Star Insurance Company]] for around £800,000 in today's money.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=History of the Castle |url=https://www.ruperracastle.wales/history.html |access-date=2 March 2024|publisher=Ruperra Castle - Castell Rhiw'r Perrai}}</ref> Today, it continues to deteriorate.<ref name=":2" />
=== Agricultural estate ===
=== Agricultural estate ===
In 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, Wales|Newport]], and 100 tenanted farms.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 February 1956 |title=Tredegar Estate Up For Auction |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19560215/011/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=1}}</ref> Morgan assured the press that tenants would be given [[Right of first refusal|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.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=26 May 1956 |title=Estate Tenants First Option |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19560526/045/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=3}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":7" />
In February 1956, it was reported that the {{Convert | 53000 | acre | adj = on}} 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, Wales|Newport]], and 100 tenanted farms.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 February 1956 |title=Tredegar Estate Up For Auction |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19560215/011/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=1}}</ref> Morgan assured the press that tenants would be given [[Right of first refusal|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.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=26 May 1956 |title=Estate Tenants First Option |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19560526/045/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=3}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":7" />


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".<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 June 1956 |title=Tenants Remind Peer of Pledge |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19560607/121/0007 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=7}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |date=14 November 1956 |title=Freehold Fell 500 Percent |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19561114/096/0007 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=7}}</ref> 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".<ref name=":8" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 November 1956 |title=Freehold Price Query To Peer |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19561116/085/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=5}}</ref> With no response yet again, Cliffe petitioned to start an inquiry into the case, hoping to gain public support.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 December 1956 |title=Reformers Demand Freehold Inquiry |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19561211/056/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=5}}</ref>
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".<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 June 1956 |title=Tenants Remind Peer of Pledge |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19560607/121/0007 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=7}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |date=14 November 1956 |title=Freehold Fell 500 Percent |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19561114/096/0007 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=7}}</ref> 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".<ref name=":8" /> 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 negotiations". Unsatisfied, Cliffe wrote to Lord Tredegar once again asking for a personal interview to discuss the "full-facts" of the situation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 November 1956 |title=Freehold Price Query To Peer |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19561116/085/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=5}}</ref> With no response yet again, Cliffe petitioned to start an inquiry into the case, hoping to gain public support.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 December 1956 |title=Reformers Demand Freehold Inquiry |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19561211/056/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=5}}</ref>


{{Quote|text=If this union never does anything else it must try to get back the money this poor woman has paid the Tredegar Estates... When the details of the public meeting are completed, we shall invite representatives of every public body we can think of. This should stir the public more than anything we have done. Tredegar Estates, too, would be invited.|author=Mr W. Watson Cliffe}}
{{Quote|text=If this union never does anything else it must try to get back the money this poor woman has paid the Tredegar Estates... When the details of the public meeting are completed, we shall invite representatives of every public body we can think of. This should stir the public more than anything we have done. Tredegar Estates, too, would be invited.|author=Mr W. Watson Cliffe}}


As of October 1956, Cliffe's union had "frightened" the Tredegar estate agents into offering the lease holdings to all tenants. Had he not petitioned the cause, Cliffe believed that the agents would have "offered the leases only to a few tenants".<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 October 1956 |title=Union 'frightened' estate agents |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19561030/087/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=20 February 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=5}}</ref> By November 1957, [[Eagle Star Insurance|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,<ref name=":14">{{Cite news |last=Worsley |first=Giles |date=24 March 1994 |title=TREDEGAR HOUSE, GWENT |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/9900007/19940324/106/0076?browse=true |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 January 2025 |work=Country Life |pages=77}}</ref>{{efn|£3,000,000 in 1957 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|3,000,000|1957|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}} all of which reportedly went to the [[HM Treasury|treasury]] in lieu of death-duties.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 March 1957 |title=£1,250,000 Tredegar Estate Deal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19570312/001/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=20 March 1957 |title=Tredegar Estate £750,000 Sale |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005475/19570320/001/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Liverpool Daily Post |pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=23 November 1957 |title=Tredegar Estate Is Sold For £2,750,000 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19571123/153/0007 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=7}}</ref>
As of October 1956, Cliffe stated that his union had "frightened" the Tredegar estate agents into offering the lease holdings to all tenants. Had he not petitioned the cause, Cliffe believed that the agents would have "offered the leases only to a few tenants".<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 October 1956 |title=Union 'frightened' estate agents |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19561030/087/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=20 February 2025 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=5}}</ref> By November 1957, [[Eagle Star Insurance|Eagle Star Insurance Company]] had bought the majority of the {{Convert | 53000 | acre | adj = on}} agricultural estate and remaining 7000 Monmouthshire town properties, raising around £3,000,000.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news |last=Worsley |first=Giles |date=24 March 1994 |title=TREDEGAR HOUSE, GWENT |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/9900007/19940324/106/0076?browse=true |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 January 2025 |work=Country Life |pages=77}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=12 March 1957 |title=£1,250,000 Tredegar Estate Deal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19570312/001/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=20 March 1957 |title=Tredegar Estate £750,000 Sale |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005475/19570320/001/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Liverpool Daily Post |pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=23 November 1957 |title=Tredegar Estate Is Sold For £2,750,000 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19571123/153/0007 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=7}}</ref>{{efn|£3,000,000 in 1957 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|3,000,000|1957|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}}


== Later life ==
== Later life ==
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=== Exile and Death ===
=== Exile and Death ===
[[File:Lord Tredegar with wife and stepdaughter.png|thumb|318x318px|Morgan with wife and stepdaughter, Bridget, walking their dogs at St Moritz. Featured in ''[[Tatler]]'', 1955]]
[[File:Lord Tredegar with wife and stepdaughter.png|thumb|318x318px|Morgan with wife and stepdaughter, Bridget, walking their dogs at St Moritz. Featured in ''[[Tatler]]'', 1955]]
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|Monte-Carlo]], Monaco, as a [[tax exile]].<ref name=":12" /> His sister, the Hon. Syssyllt Gurney took residence at his previous home, 16 Randolph Crescent in Edinburgh.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 August 1954 |title=New peer's home is in Edinburgh |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000452/19540823/096/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 May 2024 |work=Edinburgh Evening News |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 August 1954 |title=The three deeds from 1929, 1930 and 1954 governing the charity known as King George's Field - Stephney (Tredegar Square, Bow) |url=https://democracy.towerhamlets.gov.uk/documents/s12035/Appendix%203%202.pdf |access-date=17 December 2024 |website=Tower Hamlets}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 October 1949 |title=HON. JOHN MORGAN: "STRIKING PORTRAIT" |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19491015/079/0004 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=4}}</ref> He also enjoyed golf and [[yachting]], and was a member of the [[Royal Yacht Squadron]].<ref name=":13" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Atkin |first=Ronald |date=15 March 1959 |title=Peer's Vessel Hits Storm on Way From Nassau |url=https://bnl.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/BermudaNP02/id/187042/rec/4 |access-date=7 February 2025 |work=The Royal Gazette |location=Bermuda |pages=1 |volume=7}}</ref>
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]].<ref name=":12" /> His sister, the Hon. Syssyllt Gurney took residence at his previous home, 16 Randolph Crescent in Edinburgh.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 August 1954 |title=New peer's home is in Edinburgh |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000452/19540823/096/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 May 2024 |work=Edinburgh Evening News |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 August 1954 |title=The three deeds from 1929, 1930 and 1954 governing the charity known as King George's Field - Stephney (Tredegar Square, Bow) |url=https://democracy.towerhamlets.gov.uk/documents/s12035/Appendix%203%202.pdf |access-date=17 December 2024 |website=Tower Hamlets}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 October 1949 |title=HON. JOHN MORGAN: "STRIKING PORTRAIT" |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19491015/079/0004 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=Western Mail & South Wales News |pages=4}}</ref> He also enjoyed golf and [[yachting]], and was a member of the [[Royal Yacht Squadron]].<ref name=":13" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Atkin |first=Ronald |date=15 March 1959 |title=Peer's Vessel Hits Storm on Way From Nassau |url=https://bnl.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/BermudaNP02/id/187042/rec/4 |access-date=7 February 2025 |work=The Royal Gazette |location=Bermuda |pages=1 |volume=7}}</ref>


In 1959, Morgan embarked on a 2000-mile journey on his motor-yacht, the ''Henry Morgan'', which he named after his distant ancestor, [[Henry Morgan|Sir Henry Morgan]]. While just off [[Bermuda]], the ''Henry Morgan'' became at risk of sinking, faced with 25ft waves.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 March 1959 |title=Safe Refuge |url=https://bnl.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/BermudaNP02/id/185151/rec/3 |access-date=7 February 2025 |work=The Royal Gazette |location=Bermuda |pages=7}}</ref> Lord Tredegar allegedly went below-deck asserting, "there is nothing I can do about it; wake me when the fuss is over".<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |date=17 March 1959 |title=Shades of Henry Morgan! |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004848/19590317/060/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=14 January 2025 |work=Daily Express |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 November 1962 |title=Buccaneer's Descendant |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 July 2024 |work=The Scotsman |pages=10}}</ref> 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 [[Able seaman|deck-hand]] for Lord Tredegar.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |last=Stephens |first=Peter |date=13 May 1961 |title=Oh, so casual as ex-deb Judy weds her sailor |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19610513/039/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=Daily Mirror |pages=5}}</ref> They were married in 1961.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kilian |first=Richard |date=13 May 1961 |title=The rugged young man and The Dandy |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004848/19610513/012/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=Daily Express |pages=1}}</ref>
In 1959, Morgan embarked on a {{Convert | 2000 | mi | adj = on}} journey on his motor-yacht, the ''Henry Morgan'', which he named after his distant ancestor, [[Henry Morgan|Sir Henry Morgan]]. While just off [[Bermuda]], the ''Henry Morgan'' became at risk of sinking, faced with {{Convert | 25 | ft | adj = on | sigfig = 1}} waves.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 March 1959 |title=Safe Refuge |url=https://bnl.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/BermudaNP02/id/185151/rec/3 |access-date=7 February 2025 |work=The Royal Gazette |location=Bermuda |pages=7}}</ref> Lord Tredegar allegedly went below-deck asserting, "there is nothing I can do about it; wake me when the fuss is over".<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |date=17 March 1959 |title=Shades of Henry Morgan! |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004848/19590317/060/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=14 January 2025 |work=Daily Express |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 November 1962 |title=Buccaneer's Descendant |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 July 2024 |work=The Scotsman |pages=10}}</ref> 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 [[Able seaman|deck-hand]] for Lord Tredegar.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |last=Stephens |first=Peter |date=13 May 1961 |title=Oh, so casual as ex-deb Judy weds her sailor |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19610513/039/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=Daily Mirror |pages=5}}</ref> They were married in 1961.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kilian |first=Richard |date=13 May 1961 |title=The rugged young man and The Dandy |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004848/19610513/012/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=Daily Express |pages=1}}</ref>


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.<ref>Entry of death reading, "Frederic Charles John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar. Died 17 November 1962, St George's Hospital, Westminster". Registered; 19 November 1962 by Donald A. Boreham. Retrieved; 6 November 2024.</ref> Morgan left estates with a net value of £309,580,{{efn|£309,580 in 1962 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|309,580|1962|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}}
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.<ref>Entry of death reading, "Frederic Charles John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar. Died 17 November 1962, St George's Hospital, Westminster". Registered; 19 November 1962 by Donald A. Boreham. Retrieved; 6 November 2024.</ref> Morgan left estates with a net value of £309,580,{{efn|£309,580 in 1962 equates to approximately £{{Inflation|UK|309,580|1962|fmt=c|cursign=£|r=-3}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}}
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== Notes ==
== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{notelist}}
==Refenerences==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


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|year=2009
|year=2009
|origyear=1975
|origyear=1975
|isbnc=978-0-141-19090-7
|isbn=978-0-141-19090-7
}}
}}
* {{cite book
* {{cite book
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|isbn=978-0-374-53211-6
|isbn=978-0-374-53211-6
}}
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Pryce-Jones |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Pryce-Jones
|title=The Bonus of Laughter
|url=https://archive.org/details/bonusoflaughter0000pryc
|year=1987
|publisher=Hamish Hamilton Ltd
|location=London
|isbn=0-241-11903-0
}}

===Website===
===Website===
* {{cite web|last1=Clark|first1=Gregory|title=The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)|url=https://www.measuringworth.com/ukearncpi/|access-date=22 February 2023|publisher=MeasuringWorth|date=2023}}
* {{cite web|last1=Clark|first1=Gregory|title=The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)|url=https://www.measuringworth.com/ukearncpi/|access-date=22 February 2023|publisher=MeasuringWorth|date=2023}}

Latest revision as of 15:50, 7 April 2025

The Lord Tredegar
Morgan featured in The Sun, 1932
Born26 October 1908
Died17 November 1962
Title6th Baron Tredegar, 8th Morgan Baronet
Spouse(s)Joanna Russell, (m. 1954)
Parents
RelativesEvan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar, (cousin)
Signature

Frederic Charles John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar, OstJ, RYS, (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 their future was uncertain, and £1,000,000[a] was to be 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 life

[edit]

Frederic 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] 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.[20][21] 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.[22][23] The following year he continued writing, spending a number of months in Ceylon with his sister, Avis.[24][25]

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.[26] Morgan served in Scotland and the Middle East, joining the Reconnaissance Corps on 14 January 1941.[27][2][28] Morgan transferred back to the KOSB on 29 September 1943 as a lieutenant.[29] With the war over, Morgan resigned his commission on 19 November 1945, being granted the honorary rank of captain.[30] In 1949, Morgan became president of the Newport Athletic Club, and the Bedwellty Agricultural Society.[31][32][33] 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.[34][35]

Inheritance

[edit]
Morgan in 1949

Between 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.[36] 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.[36] Despite marrying twice,[37] 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.[38]

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 the lost capital.[2] With Evan refusing to transfer the any of 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",[39] 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; consequently, Morgan inherited a tax-free £1,150,000[d] fortune.[2][39] As a Catholic convert, Morgan made a pilgrimage to Lourdes for guidance as for what to do with his fortune and family estates.[39][40] 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."[41]

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.[42] The contents of Honeywood House were moved to Tredegar House, where they would later be sold.[42]

Disposal of Morgan estates

[edit]

Tredegar House

[edit]
North-western façade of Tredegar House

Despite indicating his intention to remain at Tredegar, Morgan spent little time there, with the exception of the occasional social gathering.[43] In his father's final years, Morgan had already begun selling off parts of the once 88,000-acre (36,000 ha) estate in an attempt to recover the family's lost fortune.[2] In 1949 he considered donating the house to the National Trust but did not proceed with the plan.[44][g] 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 (80 ha) parkland to the Sisters of St. Joseph for £40,000,[2] asserting that the sale was "good for his bank balance, and his soul".[h] 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.[45] 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.[46] 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 the majority of 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.[47] Councillor A. F. Dolman described changing the destination of the documents as a "breech of faith".[48] 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.[49]

Intentions

[edit]
Honeywood House featured in a 1954 issue of Country Life, where it was advertised prior to Morgan's disposal of the house and surrounding estate.[50]

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".[51] However, in 1953, Morgan suddenly resigned from all of his social roles, seemingly severing his links with South Wales. At the time it was suggested that this could have been due to the fact that Morgan 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 him being one of the largest landowners in the area.[52] This factor, coupled with crippling death-duties forcing Morgan to become a tax-exile in Monaco, resulted in him directing two firms to dispose of Honeywood House and its surrounding 172 acres (70 ha) at auction in 1954. The estates' lodges, cottages, and home-farm were sold separately.[2][53][54] 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".[55]

Ruperra Castle

[edit]
Ruperra Castle in 2001

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.[56] 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".[57] Despite offers from the National Trust, in 1956 Morgan sold the castle and a few acres of surrounding land to Eagle Star Insurance Company for around £800,000 in today's money.[56] Today, it continues to deteriorate.[56]

Agricultural estate

[edit]

In February 1956, it was reported that the 53,000-acre (21,000 ha) 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.[58] 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.[59] 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.[59]

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".[60] 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.[61] 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".[61] 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 negotiations". Unsatisfied, Cliffe wrote to Lord Tredegar once again asking for a personal interview to discuss the "full-facts" of the situation.[62] With no response yet again, Cliffe petitioned to start an inquiry into the case, hoping to gain public support.[63]

If this union never does anything else it must try to get back the money this poor woman has paid the Tredegar Estates... When the details of the public meeting are completed, we shall invite representatives of every public body we can think of. This should stir the public more than anything we have done. Tredegar Estates, too, would be invited.

— Mr W. Watson Cliffe

As of October 1956, Cliffe stated that his union had "frightened" the Tredegar estate agents into offering the lease holdings to all tenants. Had he not petitioned the cause, Cliffe believed that the agents would have "offered the leases only to a few tenants".[64] By November 1957, Eagle Star Insurance Company had bought the majority of the 53,000-acre (21,000 ha) agricultural estate and remaining 7000 Monmouthshire town properties, raising around £3,000,000.[65][66][67][68][i]

Later life

[edit]

Following the death of his father on 21 August 1954, Morgan succeeded to the family titles becoming the 6th Baron Tredegar and 8th Morgan Baronet.[69] Morgan remained a bachelor until the age of 46; on 19 December 1954, he married Joanna Russell (1910–2000), in London.[70][71][72] 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.[73][74][75] In 1955, Lord and Lady Tredegar featured in The Tatler, alongside Lady Tredegar's daughter, Bridget, at St. Moritz.[73] The following year Lady Tredegar visited Tredegar House for the first time, accompanied by her husband, where they thanked former employees of the house, as well as workers from the Tredegar Estate Office.[53]

Exile and Death

[edit]
Morgan with wife and stepdaughter, Bridget, walking their dogs at St Moritz. Featured in Tatler, 1955

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.[53] His sister, the Hon. Syssyllt Gurney took residence at his previous home, 16 Randolph Crescent in Edinburgh.[76][77] 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.[78] He also enjoyed golf and yachting, and was a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron.[79][80]

In 1959, Morgan embarked on a 2,000-mile (3,200 km) journey on his motor-yacht, the Henry Morgan, which he named after his distant ancestor, Sir Henry Morgan. While just off Bermuda, the Henry Morgan became at risk of sinking, faced with 25-foot (8 m) waves.[81] Lord Tredegar allegedly went below-deck asserting, "there is nothing I can do about it; wake me when the fuss is over".[79][82] 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.[74] They were married in 1961.[74][83]

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.[84] Morgan left estates with a net value of £309,580,[j] donating £500[k] to the Church of The Immaculate Conception in his will.[85] 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.[86]

Morgan's wife went on to donate sixty to seventy portraits to Tredegar House, including paintings of the Morgan family as well as her husband's own works.[87][65][88] 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]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ £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.[1]
  2. ^ Pryce-Jones was also best man at the wedding of Morgan's sister, Syssyllt, and a friend of his cousin, Evan Morgan.[7]
  3. ^ 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]
  4. ^ £1,150,000 in 1949 equates to approximately £51,321,000 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.[1]
  5. ^ Honeywood House was Evan Morgan's second residence, in Dorking, England. It was the primary residence of Evan's mother, Katherine, as she did not enjoy good relations with her husband, Courtenay. Both Evan and Katherine died there in 1949.
  6. ^ £8,837 in 1949 equates to approximately £394,000 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.[1]
  7. ^ While John Morgan did not take forward his plans to donate the house, Lees-Milne nevertheless recorded his views of the house's importance, and of Morgan himself, when he visited Tredegar as secretary of the National Trust's Country House Committee in 1949; "Was met by John Morgan, flying his personal flag on the radiator of his motor, and driven to Tredegar. He is absurdly pompous and puffed up with self-importance, yet has a genuine sense of duty, and his religion means everything to him. We spent the afternoon going round the house. Now, it is important and probably the best in Wales. Nevertheless, I was a trifle disappointed by the coarse, unrefined quality of the craftsmanship".[44]
  8. ^ £40,000 in 1950 equates to approximately £1,731,000 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.[1]
  9. ^ £3,000,000 in 1957 equates to approximately £91,360,000 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.[1]
  10. ^ £309,580 in 1962 equates to approximately £8,342,000 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.[1]
  11. ^ £500 in 1962 equates to approximately £13,000 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.[1]

References

[edit]
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  44. ^ a b Lees-Milne 2009, p. 131.
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Sources

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Books

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Website

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Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baron Tredegar
1954–1962
Extinct