John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar

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 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.

Ancestry and early life

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. Through his maternal line, Morgan was a descendent of the ancient Basset family; some of the earliest Norman settlers. Although named after his father, Morgan was known as John. He was educated at Eton College following family tradition, but did not attend university. It was while studying at Eton that Morgan befriended Alan Pryce-Jones. Pryce-Jones' father nicknamed Morgan "Pinhead", with even Alan conceiving that Morgan was "rather a silly boy".

The Morgans claimed descent from Welsh princes, and were among the most powerful families in South Wales, their fortunes having been established by William Morgan, who was a politician, and acquired substantial landholdings throughout Monmouthshire, Glamorganshire and Breconshire. His descendants continued the family's political and social ascent; Charles Morgan becoming a baronet in 1792, and another Charles becoming 1st Baron Tredegar in 1859. His second son, Godfrey Morgan fought in the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War and was made Viscount Tredegar in 1905. Never marrying, Godfrey was in turn succeeded by his nephew Courtenay Morgan, for whom the Tredegar viscountcy was revived in 1926. Evan Morgan succeeded his father in 1934. Having no children of his own, his heir was his uncle, Frederic Morgan, father of John.

Morgan's parents divorced in 1921, following an affair between his mother and Ralph Kirby, who she would marry the day following the finalisation of the divorce; Morgan's father took custody of him and his sister, Avis. Morgan's father never remarried, and his mother died in 1929. Morgan joined the Territorial Army, becoming a second lieutenant in the 24th Battalion, London Regiment, on 19 December 1927, resigning from the post on 19 February 1930. Following his resignation from the army, Morgan lived as an expatriate in New Zealand and Australia, where he was engaged in writing a novel based on his travels, before returning to London in 1932. The following year he continued writing, spending a number of months in Ceylon with his sister, Avis.

At the beginning of the Second World War, Morgan rejoined the British Army, becoming a second lieutenant in the King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) on 15 December 1939. Morgan served in Scotland and the Middle East, joining the Reconnaissance Corps on 14 January 1941. Morgan transferred back to the KOSB on 29 September 1943 as a lieutenant. With the war over, Morgan resigned his commission on 19 November 1945, being granted the honorary rank of captain.

Inheritance

Between 1934 and 1949, John Morgan's first cousin, Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar, was head of the Morgan family and occupier of Tredegar House. Evan spent copiously during his life with a menagerie of bears, birds, and kangaroos installed at the family home, while his weekend house parties played host to the likes of H.G Wells and Aldous Huxley. Although a Roman Catholic, Evan had a fascination with the occult and enjoyed a long friendship with Aleister Crowley. Despite marrying twice, Evan was homosexual and died without children leaving his 75 year old uncle Frederic as his heir. While Frederic and Evan did not enjoy good relations, John and Evan shared a mutual loathing.

As a result of Evan's eccentricities, by the end of the 1940s the family's fortune was depleted. Between 1946 and 1947, several meetings took place between the trustees of the Tredegar Estates in an attempt to recover the lost capital. With Evan refusing to transfer any of the estate to John, and Frederic refusing Evan's suggestion to sell parts of the estate, no agreements were made meaning Frederic inherited the Welsh estates, the barony, the baronetcy and an inheritance tax bill of £1,000,000.

Frederic, who described himself as an "arthritis cripple", 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
fortune. As a Catholic convert, Morgan made a pilgrimage to Lourdes for guidance as for what to do with his fortune and family estates. At the time, 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."

Ultimately, fragile health prevented Morgan’s father from joining him at Tredegar House, and while Morgan himself did not make it his permanent residence, he did occasionally stay there for days at a time. As the sole occupier of Tredegar House, and representative of the Morgan family, John Morgan became a regent-like figure, assuming the various social roles that his father would have otherwise held as Lord Tredegar. Among many other organisations, in 1949 Morgan became President of the Bedwellty Agricultural Society, becoming heavily involved in the society’s meetings and shows. In 1950, Morgan was appointed an Officer of the Order of St. John, having already liaised for many months with the Priory for Wales as Assistant Almoner. Reporting on an event which Morgan had chaired in the same year, the ''South Wales Argus'' commented “the more we see of organ the more we like him.”

Disposal of Morgan estates

Tredegar House

While Morgan occasionally stayed at Tredegar for days at a time, rising costs coupled with outstanding death-duties meant he never made it his permanent residence. In 1949, Morgan considered donating the house to the National Trust, with James Lees-Milne assessing the property, but did not proceed with the plan. In August 1950, he announced "with great regret" that death duties, taxation and rising costs had made it necessary for him to close Tredegar House. In December of the same year, he agreed to sell the house and its remaining parkland to the Sisters of St. Joseph for £40,000, asserting that the sale was "good for his bank balance, and his soul". In January 1951, Morgan allowed Iorwerth Peate, keeper-in-charge for St Fagan's Castle, to choose 30 pieces of furniture from Tredegar House for exhibition in the period rooms of the castle. Later, Morgan directed Stephenson & Alexander, a firm of auctioneers, to dispose of the remaining contents of the house in sales on 11-12 July 1951. On the sale of the house, Morgan asked the nuns to hang portraits of his family and ancestors in one room to ensure that a Morgan presence remained in the house after his departure. 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. Councillor A. F. Dolman described changing the destination of the documents as a "breech of faith". 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.

Intentions

When Morgan announced that he would sell Tredegar House, he told the press that he "intended to live at Honeywood House, Dorking... and had no intention of breaking his connection with South Wales". 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. 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 at auction in 1954. The estates' lodges, cottages, and home-farm were sold separately. 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".

Ruperra Castle

Ruperra Castle was the family's weekend hunting lodge, and traditionally home of the heir to the Tredegar estates. In 1941, the castle had been severely damaged by a fire while under military's control. In 1949, there was a possibility that Wales would buy Ruperra Castle from Morgan with the intention of using it as a memorial to Welshmen lost during the Second World War and placing it in the care of the National Trust. The day following his visit to Tredegar House, James Lees-Milne visited Ruperra Castle to assess it on behalf of the trust, concluding that he saw no point in the proposal. In 1956, Morgan sold the castle and a few acres of surrounding land to the Eagle Star Insurance Company for around £800,000 in today's money. Today, it continues to deteriorate.

Agricultural estate

In February 1956, it was reported that the 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 with an estimated income of £120,000 per annum. 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. 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.

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". 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. 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". 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. With no response yet again, Cliffe petitioned to start an inquiry into the case, hoping to gain public support.

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". By November 1957, the Eagle Star Insurance Company had bought the majority of the agricultural estate and Monmouthshire town properties, raising around £3,000,000.

Later life

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. Morgan remained a bachelor until the age of 46; on 19 December 1954, he married Joanna Russell (1910–2000), at Caxton Hall, London. 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. In 1955, Lord and Lady Tredegar featured in ''Tatler'', alongside Lady Tredegar's daughter, Bridget, at St. Moritz. 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.

Exile and Death

Despite liquidating his Welsh estates and property in lieu of death-duties, Morgan claimed that further taxation forced his decision to emigrate to Monte-Carlo, Monaco, as a tax exile. His sister, the Hon. Avis Gurney took residence at his previous home, 16 Randolph Crescent in Edinburgh. In Monaco, he pursued his interest in art, having studied under Leonard Fuller at St Ives School and displayed in Tredegar House. He also enjoyed golf and yachting, and was a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron.

In 1959, Morgan embarked on a 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 waves. Lord Tredegar allegedly went below-deck asserting, "there is nothing I can do about it; wake me when the fuss is over". 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. They were married in 1961.

In 1962, Morgan became ill with bronchopneumonia, and returned to London as he did not trust the local doctors. An operation to treat the pneumonia was carried out on 10 October. Morgan subsequently received a Whippe Procedure to treat chronic pancreatitis which had emerged following the initial operation.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. Although he appeared to be recovering, Morgan suffered a secondary haemorrhage from his intestine and contracted septicaemia. Failing to recover, Morgan died without issue on 17 November, at St. George’s Hospital, aged 54.

He left estates with a net value of £309,580,
donating £500
to the Church of the Immaculate Conception in his will. 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. On 22 November, a requiem Mass was celebrated at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, before Morgan was interred at the St. Pancras Roman Catholic Cemetery.

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. 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.

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1908 births
1962 deaths
People educated at Eton College
British Army personnel of World War II
Officers of the Order of St John