POOR GWYNETH : THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A WELSH HEIRESS DEEMED A BEAUTIFUL NUISANCE

                              

A TALK TODAY AT PONYTYPOOL, SOUTH WALES

ON THE HONOURABLE GWYNETH ERICKA MORGAN

Hon. Gwyneth Ericka Morgan : ‘ A Beautiful Nuisance’

A Crime Revisited 100 Years On : From William Cross, FSA Scot

“..and all that’s best of dark and light meet in her aspect and her eyes” Byron

Hon. Gwyneth Ericka Morgan: 1895-1925 was one of the richest and as a debutante of 1914, one of the prettiest and alluring of girls. The daughter of Lord Courtenay and Lady Katharine Tredegar of Tredegar House, Newport, and, only sibling of the notorious Evan Morgan, the last Viscount Tredegar.

Gwyneth was wayward and unpredictable. She had an adventurous streak and a reputation for being something of a bohemian in the era of the ‘Bright Young Things’. After a chequered childhood, WW1 & difficult struggle in her 20s and after a period of foreign travel including recuperating from ill health Gwyneth suddenly walked out of a house in Wimbledon on 11 December 1924 where she lived with a housekeeper & maid. She left in a thick London fog with £70 in her pocket. She told no one where she was going. After being missing for five months a rotting corpse, was pulled from the River Thames on 25 May 1925. It was claimed as Gywneth’s. But was it? Who benefited by clearing up Gwyneth’s fate?

We'll never really know for sure what happened to Gwyneth Morgan. After spending 7 years investigating her disappearance her biographers Will Cross and Monty Dart in the book " A Beautiful Nuisance : The Life and Death of the Honourable Gwyneth Ericka Morgan " reached various conclusions but never found finality or peace of mind.

"One of the saddest things about Gwyneth's death" "was the turquoise amulet found on her body. It had been given to her by her brother Evan ( perhaps to ward off evil influences ) , it was held together by a piece of wire from a ginger beer bottle. It must have meant a lot to her."

Today, in May 2025 as we near the centenary of Gwyneth’s re-emergence after a mystery disappearance, and over 5 months of searching and waiting for news Will Cross offers some new evidence he’s gathered behind the whole mystery but still with some unanswered questions , yet sinister overtones.

A small number of copies of the biography of Gwyneth, featured below are still available, reduced to £13.20 (plus UK postage) on ebay, but only for a few days and then the book will wither (like Gwyneth) on the vine.

Click on ebay link

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205055214519

ENQUIRIES  : PLEASE CONTACT WILL CROSS BY EMAIL :

 

williecross@aol.com

 

POSTED 21 MAY 2025

Evan Morgan's House Parties and Weekends at Tredegar House 1934-1938

 TREDEGAR HOUSE :WEEKEND PARTIES, FROLICS AND FUN

EVAN MORGAN’S HOUSE GUESTS 1934-1938

A celebration from William Cross, FSA Scot

Author of several books on the  Morgans of Tredegar House

In the years 1934 - 1949 Evan Morgan Viscount Tredegar held court at his Welsh mansion, Tredegar House, an impressive 17th century red brick building set in 100 acres of parkland near Newport. Invitations to Evan's country house weekends were highly prized. But how many house guests passed through the gates of Tredegar House in the Evan years? Who actually stayed there and when? What of the legends of Evan's séances, outrageous parlour game of charades, riotous drinking and orgies to compare with Caligula's Rome? What is the truth, and what are the myths about these crazy weekends? In this book William Cross, author of previous Morgan books reveals the identity of the scores of people who were Evan's guests. Here are the good, bad and the downright disgraceful whom Evan brought together under one roof. The historical icons of the era, male prostitutes, spivs, spies, and traitors as well as a sizable collection of stage and literary figures, politicians, Catholic luminaries and Evan's relatives including his Royal cousins. Evan was a generous host, an excessive party giver, a man whose wealth in theory could support his foibles for pleasure seeking, for indulging in a complex homosexual life style, having footmen wear powdered wigs, and running a large zoo in the Estate grounds comprising wild and exotic birds and animals. But beneath the surface of fun, folly and farce it was a dynasty in decay, the Morgan coffers were crumbling fast under the burden of death duties, heavy taxation and the changing attitude in Society to service and employment on the landed estates. Evan was also a sick man crippled with poor health, moreover he ploughed a dangerous furrow especially during the war years and was subject to surveillance from on high.”

Essential reading for those interested in Newport’s most famous family and their history  and those who want to know the truth about Evan’s hospitality and who he invited to stay under his 500 year old roof during his early years as the lord of the Manor.

The book is 150 pages long, over 55,000 words with over 400 End Notes. The main text  contains  over  100 images. There is also a  directory of over 300 guests whom Evan entertained, with biographical details, and dates when they visited Tredegar House,  some entries have photographs ”. Enquiries William Cross 58 Sutton Newport, Newport, NP 19 7JF 

e-mail

 williecross@aol.com

“Evan Morgan, Lord Tredegar's House Guests 1934-1938. “  Compiled by  William Cross. ISBN 9781905914531.  ( 2019) Copies of the book can be obtained direct from the Author.   Contact him by e-mail.

 Last Copies may still be available on  e-bay  / Amazon

NB SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY

Contact William Cross directly ( by e-mail )  for latest book offers.


An illustrated  talk is also available about the book from William Cross. 

SIGNED COPIES AND ILLUSTRATED TALK ON EVAN MORGAN'S HOUSE PARTIES 

NEWPORT U3A  Shaftsbury Church, Newport : BOOK LAUNCH

7 November 2019

http://lecturelist.org/content/view_lecture/16498




UPDATED 21 December 2019

Great War : Roll of Honour: Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport

The Morgans of Tredegar House:

Great War Roll of Honour : The Hoare, Lindsay and Mundy great- grandsons of the first Lord and Lady Tredegar who died during the 1914-1918 War

Introduction by William Cross, FSA Scot

As  Britain  nears the end of  four years  of  commemorations  for  the Great War,  the  many  stories revealed  have  enriched our history  and shed light on tales  of heroism,  sacrifice and premature deaths.

Five  of the great grandsons of the first Lord & Lady Tredegar of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales were  killed in action in the fighting.  But no mention  is  made of  these men  at  the Morgan seat  where thousands of visitors flock every month including local Welsh school children. [i] That is a disgraceful reflection on these  deceased members of the Morgan dynasty who gave their lives for their country.  [ii]

It is also  unbefitting (by comparison) that  visitors to Tredegar  House will hear stories of a horse named ‘Sir Briggs’ who went to war in the Crimean  with  Godfrey Morgan, 2^nd Lord Tredegar but learn nothing whatsoever  about the  five young Tredegar men who perished in history and warfare that has more relevance and poignancy today than anything from time past.  

Those  to remember  with  honour are  Lt. Charles Morgan Hoare, 15^th Kings Hussars, Capt. George Walter Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers, Lt. Frederic Charles Mundy, RNVR,  Lt. Archibald Thurston Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers and Major Claud Frederick Thomas Lindsay, Royal Field Artillery who  all  died between 1914 and 1918.

Lady Katharine Carnegie, wife of the 3^rd Lord  Tredegar, also lost a nephew in the same conflict, Capt. Raymond Rodakowski, Irish Guards, who was killed in action in 1917.

This short book is a tribute to these men, who  spent periods of  childhood and early adulthood in the company of  their Morgan relations at estate events and family gatherings at Tredegar House and the adjoining Tredegar Park.  We should remember them.

The book also touches on three  other men killed  in the Great War with overlaps to the Morgan family: Hon. Simon Fraser, Hon. Charles Mills, MP,  and Hon. Reginald Wyndham who were linked in her debutante year of 1914 with Gwyneth Erika Morgan (only daughter of the 3^rd Lord and Lady Tredegar), and but for the lives of the men ending  in the war it poses the inevitable question of ‘what might have been’.    

The book is dedicated to Hon. Gerard  Sturt, [iii] a Captain in the Coldstream Guards (brother of Lois Sturt who married Evan Morgan). Gerard died of war wounds exactly one hundred years ago today.

Bless them all.   

William Cross, FSA Scot, Newport, 11 November 2018

---

[i] The matter was referred to by a Newport historian, Jim Dyer in the South Wales Argus in a letter in August 2017 : “As we are some way into the commemoration of WW1, I am rather surprised that no mention has been made of the Morgan Family. Everyone knows about their escapades in the Crimean War, but few know that some of the family collaterals died in the Great War. The Morgan family lost five members  in various battles and maybe a plaque or exhibit of this great sacrifice should be displayed at Tredegar House. The men, related to the first Lord and Lady Tredegar, lost were – Lt. Charles Morgan Hoare, 15th Kings Hussars; Capt. George Walter Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers;  Lt. Frederic Charles Mundy, RNVR; Lt. Archibald Thurston Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers, and Major Claude Frederick, Thomas Lindsay, Royal field Artillery. What sacrifice, all between 1914/18. Additionally, the Second Lady Tredegar, Katharine Carnegie, lost a nephew during the conflict, Capt. Raymond Rodakowski, Irish Guards, in 1917.

Tredegar House of course is well known and popular internationally, and I am quite surprised the Curators in charge there haven't made the most of this family connection.” Jim Dyer, Stockton Road, Newport. NB This is an amended version to that published in the South Wales Argus – 28 August 2017.

[ii] On 11 November 2017 and again on 11 November 2018  when the whole country observed two minutes silence for the dead from the Great War, and at  the  Armistice  commemorations 100 years on from the special day  that established  an important  date for peace and remembrance  after  four years of slaughter between 1914 and 1918,  Tredegar House, Newport, managed by the National Trust  remained dark and closed.

[iii] Captain  Hon. Gerard Philip Montagu Napier Sturt (1893-1918)  was the eldest  son of Humphrey Napier Sturt, 2nd Baron Alington of Crichel and Lady Feodorowna Yorke of Crichel House, Wimborne, Dorset. Died 11 November 1918 aged 25 ‘from wounds received in action’.  Sadly, the circumstances of Gerard’s death point to suicide. Contact the Author for further details.

CONTACT WILLIAM CROSS BY E-MAIL/POST FOR MORE DETAILS

williecross@aol.com

ISBN 13 9781905914487

Published by

William P. Cross

Book Midden Publishing

58 Sutton Road

Newport Gwent

NP19 7JF, United Kingdom

Charles Rodney Morgan : Heir of Tredegar House : A New Book

Charles Rodney Morgan :  1828-1854

The heir apparent of Tredegar House, Newport 

A New Book

 By William Cross, FSA Scot

Charles Rodney Morgan ( 1828-1854)  was  the first born son  of  the wealthy Charles  Morgan Robinson Morgan and  Rosamond Mundy   later  Lord and Lady Tredegar of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales. 

A foppish,  romantic  figure,  described as “diminutive and of delicate features” he was a popular  huntsman and heir to the Morgan family titles.  In  1849  his coming of age was marked with wide spread celebrations in Newport and surrounds, huge bonfires were lit for miles around. He had everything to live for and become the next Sir Charles Morgan, a landowner of thousands of acres and numerous property interests.                       

Educated at Eton,  Charles saw  service as an officer  in the Coldstream Guards,  later he was elected  Member of  Parliament for  Brecon.  Then scandal and tragedy struck.  Charles had a  taste for the bohemian life and chose bad company in the underbelly of London Society.  At the age of just 25 he died  in Marseilles,  France in 1854 after contracting a debilitating  disease.

Charles’  brother Godfrey was at his sibling’s bed side to offer hope and comfort. It was soon afterwards that Godfrey famously went out to the Crimea to fight for his  Queen and country and return a hero of Balaclava, and  the Morgan  heir.

This is a touching  story of ‘what might have been’ of how Charles Morgan’s first choice of a wife  was dismissed by his parents, how he fell under the spell of a French woman, who bore him a son,  slipped fast into debauchery and  under pressure from creditors  and his angry parents fled in disgrace abroad.    

ISBN 13 978-1-905914-50-0

Published by William P. Cross Book Midden Publishing

58 Sutton Road Newport Gwent, NP19 7JF,   United Kingdom

 Publication Date : 2023 or later

Enquiries : Please e-mail William Cross, FSA Scot 

williecross@aol.com

Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar

The  Morgan  family Coat of Arms ( in wood) at the home  in France  of John Morgan, the 6th & last Lord Tredegar, who died in 1962. Below is a curious  wooden plank with the details of David Morgan, a  Welsh Jacobite who was executed in 1746, suggested as a kinsman of the Morgans of Tredegar. The Morgan family  motto is  " Si Deus Nobiscum quis contra nos" =  If God is with us, then who is against us.

NEW BOOK ON

EVAN MORGAN

    Sketches of  Evan, Viscount Tredegar

‘Lord of the Lies’

As  seen  by  friends, foes and  lovers

William  Cross, FSA Scot

A  new  book  about  Evan Morgan,

Contact the Author William Cross for further information or about any queries regarding the book.williecross@aol.com Book Details   ISBN 9781905914463Published by Book Midden Publishing ( 2017)A further title in the series will appear in 2018.

Lord of the Lies: A new book about the eccentric Evan, Viscount Tredegar

Sketches of  Evan, Viscount Tredegar.  ‘Lord of the Lies’As  seen  by  friends, foes and  lovers:  A new  book  William  Cross

A new book about Evan Morgan, Viscount Tredegar  is published in December 2017  by   Newport  writer  William Cross,  FSA Scot,  Evan’s biographer, and the author of seven  other books featuring that notably eccentric Welsh peer and early sex tourist.

“ Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar” subtitled ‘Lord of the Lies’ is a compilation of  reminiscences and impressions   of  how  the last Viscount Tredegar  is   recalled by  regular habitats of the Morgan family seat at  Tredegar House in the 1930s and 1940s, 

The testimonies  come from those who knew Evan Morgan,  his friends, foes and  lovers.  Contributors include   historian  Cyril Hughes Hartmann, novelist  Inez Holden,  travel writer  Robin Bryans,  poet and journalist Charles Graves, Evan’s godson   Desmond Leslie,  the Irish  diplomat  Shane Leslie,  literary editor,  Alan Pryce-Jones and  barrister  Henry Maxwell. 

Cross explains    : "There are many tall stories about Evan Morgan. So called facts  have been  invented around him, in some  cases these  are no better than lies.  Often the  lies are mischievous and deliberately contrived, with Evan himself  being one of the principal  liars. By presenting  these testimonies from Evan's contemporaries  the truth is attempted  at  long last."

The book will be available on Amazon, ebay and direct from the Author

 ISBN 9781905914463            

Limited Edition signed by the Author