A Short Tribute to Katharine Carnegie
Viscountess Tredegar : 1867-1949
By William Cross, FSA Scot
In 1913, on the death of Godfrey, the 2nd Lord Tredegar, his nephew, Courtenay Morgan, succeeded to the title. Godfrey never married and an assorted mix of his sisters and their daughters acted as hostesses at Tredegar House.
On
Courtenay's succession, his marriage of
thirteen years to Lady Katharine Carnegie was in difficulty. Katharine hated
Newport had not seen a
Lady Tredegar since the death of the first baroness, Lady Rosamond Mundy, almost thirty years before, in 1883.
Courtenay was
obliged to play for time to explain the absence of Katharine from his side.
However he persuaded the local newspaper, the "South Wales Argus" , to publish a sketch of Katharine, as below, dated 1907.
Katharine in 1907
The Daily Mail of 22 November, 1913 recorded:
“Lord Tredegar announced
at
Katharine absence from Courtenay’s side, Tredegar House and
It was all different in
1890 when Major Courtenay Morgan married
Lady Katharine Agnes Blanche Carnegie in the library of
Kinnaird Castle
Everyone expected a happy marriage, but it was never happy, Katharine and Courtenay were not suited and dysfunctional.
But they had two children, a son, Evan born 1893 and a daughter, Gwyneth, born 1895.
As 1913 finally
closed the whole of Courtenay’s family, Katharine, son Evan and daughter
Gwyneth were in
Tredegar House, Newport
In January 1915, Katharine roped Gwyneth ( in her second year as a debutante ) into acting as a companion at a matinee held at the Alhambra Theatre in aid of Grand Duke Michael’s Fund for sending comforts to the British soldiers in France.[2]
Gwyneth Morgan
An adjoining report
records “ Although at present in
London, and very much an invalid, Lady Tredegar takes a keen interest in the
various movements in Wales which have been set on foot either for supplying the
needs of Welsh regiments or assisting local distress.” [3]
A poor sleeper, susceptible to noise and uncomfortable in London’s war time chaos, Katharine was house hunting – she bought a refuge, Honeywood House, that later this became her main home, at Rowhook, near Dorking.
During the war period, and despite her health being wobbly she
tried hard to keep a presence in London
during the summer months.
Honeywood House, Rowhook
In the early months of
being Lord and Lady Tredegar they took a
lease on St Dunstan’s Lodge,
At the outbreak of the
Great War, Courtenay offered his steam yacht Liberty to the War Office, this was accepted, the ship was revamped
as a hospital ship ( at Courtenay’s own expense) and he went off to sail in her
– seeing early action in the North Sea.
Katharine was unwell but keen to contribute something useful too. She wrote a letter expressing her great regret that her health would not allow her to take an active part in the good work which the various branches of the Red Cross Society were doing in Monmouthshire, and informing the Society that she would send a cheque for £100 to the Bassaleg St Basil’s Working Guild Red Cross Committee aid of the County’s Central Red Cross Society.[7]
While
In the summer of 1917 her efforts were recognised by the Prime Minister
David Lloyd George and his wife who
invited Katharine to
One report says “ [ The Princess ] was sitting in her favourite pink and white, between Mrs Lloyd George and Lady Tredegar ....”[9]
Katharine by Augustus John
Welsh artist, Augustus John informed London and Wales of Katharine’s looks and fashions when he painted her and subsequently displayed his “Lady Tredegar” in an exhibition at the Alpine Club, along with a portrait of Lady Cynthia Asquith and an early versions of his series “Tinkers” ( on Gipsies) that John ranked amongst his own best work of the period.[10] Katharine was also painted by Ambrose McEvoy and exhibited at in the year that followed.[11]
Katharine by Ambrose McEvoy
An anonymous ‘ Portrait of a Young Man ‘ in the same exhibition was of Evan Morgan.[12]
Evan Morgan By Augustus John
Katharine also facilitated a war time charity appeals for the Royal Flying Corps - one of these in March 1918 was a matinee concert at the Coliseum[13] and a month later by staging a vocal recital by Boris Lensky at her home at 45 Grosvenor Square on Saturday 13 April, 1918. [14]
Katharine’s patronage
of the arts and young up and coming artists was another passion of hers through
the early 1920s including Wyndham Lewis
is reflected in her appearances at
galleries and exhibitions.[15] Two years before she was among those who
supported an exhibition of American
contemporary art at the Grafton Gallaries. It was during this time that
Katharine gained a lady’s companion,
Miss Mackenzie.[16]
There was always a need for a new hat. Katharine was among a number of Society women to have Nellie Romilly, a family connection by marriage, supplied the said head ware.
In 1926, the year that
Courtenay became a Viscount and Katharine Viscountess Tredegar she remained
active in artistic circles with a a pledge of support by Viscountess
Tredegar for the ‘Chelsea Opera Week’ in November.[17]
But Katharine was at times adrift from reality. It had not helped her well bring that her daughter Gwyneth had died in mysterious circumstances between December 1924 and May 1925, and a body ( identified as Gwyneth) had been dragged out of the River Thames.
TO BE CONTINUED
EXTRACT FROM THE DRAFT OF A BOOK " THE FIVE LADY TREDEGARS" BY WILLIAM CROSS, FSA SCOT
FOR MORE INFORMATION E-MAIL WILL CROSS
[1] Daily Mail, 26 December 1913
[2] Western Mail, 22 January 1915.
[3] Ibid.
[4]
The
[5]
[6]
The Morgan townhouse in London of 39 Portman Place was put to the market to
meet the death duties from Godfrey’s estate.
In 1914 the Tredegars took a
lease on Lady Millar’s house at
[7] Western Mail, 18 August 1914.
[8] Daily Mirror, 27 June, 1917.
[9] Ibid..
[10] Daily Mirror, 26 November, 1917.
[11] Daily Mirror 11 May 1918.
[12] Daily Mirror 14 February 1918
[13] Daily Mirror 18 March, 1918.
[14] Reviewed in The Telegraph for 15 April, 1918.
[15] The Times of 23 April, 1921 records Katharine attending Wyndham’s Lewis’ ‘ Tyros and Portraits’ at the Leicester Galleries. Other named as attending include Lady Cunard , Mr Asquith and Sir Carl and Lady Meyer.
[16] Daily Telegraph, 14 March 1921.
[17] Daily Telegraph 11 November , 1926.
