Tredegar House Parody : John Morgan, Lord Intriguer: The Last Mole Standing in Bassaleg Fields

Ringo Mole

John Morgan : Lord Intriguer 

 The Last Mole Standing 

In Bassaleg Fields

TIME LINE 1908-1962

John Morgan, Lord Intriguer, aka Johnny-Boy “ Ringo” Mole “ The Mad Hatter” was the last Man Mole standing in the reconstituted  Intriguer- Gould- Morgan line of descent.

 It was a line that closed during the  infamous  Beeching era.

 Having been kick started in  womanly glory in 1792 it  ended with the embarrassing  collapse of all  its male Mole Hills in year of our Lord 1962.

 The  future of Intriguer House was put  into the  paws of a contingent of  pious Mole nuns named after the venerable St Joseph- The Carpenter Mole.

 The  land slippage was obvious long before Johnny-Boy’s rise to power.

 Johhny -Boy showed  no early promise, and was troubled with pinhead eyes, pinhead ears and a pinhead brain.  But he stood tall, aloof, absurdly pompous and puffed up, and was self-opinionated, even at 12.

 His dearest  Papa, Freddy–Mole, aka  ‘Intriguer the Silent’,  gave him the unspoken treatment but  that poor sod  was tongue tied because by the time Freddy ever spoke up the conversation had moved on, or the seasons had changed. 

 Later when Johnny -Boy came marching home from various inane foreign digs in his 20s  he  sported a brand  new hat, all  just a fashionable fad  to make him alluring.  These  mad hatter escapades  was the total extent of his  souvenir hunting from numerous sabbaticals , even although his irritating  little sister Hon. Avi-ation Gurney Mole asked him to bring her back some bars of  striped sticky rock. 

 After  spending  two years avoiding the horse ploughs  of New Zealand where he  befriended some fellow Etonites  in the tangata whenua ,  (Māoris)  the indigenous Moles there,  he hardly ever took off his Fedora or stopped flashing his Eton three fold, reppe striped silk, tie.

 Johnny-Boy  had several aliases. He  fancied himself as  being a Mexican bandit, like Garcia rustling  cattle cakes for worms , but  he thought “Ringo” was a much better name for a  robbing bastard. He also  bought out by bullying all the tortilla chip mines from  peasants,  and filled his  winter larders as  he preferred tortillas to eating worms. The tortilla  deal  came with a  free  sombrero hat.

 When Johnny-Boy became Lord Intriguer the lawyers told him he didn’t need to rob banks or  rail trains or mistreat peasants  as  the Intriguer millions ( from banks and rail trains and  peasants hard graft ) had already been fully exploited and pilfered by all kinds of  illegality and stealth  by his ancestors and kinfolk by mastering  slavery,  rascality  and acts of  sodomy.

 Johnny-Boy  as Lord Intriguer ( after  as many deaths as the list of Adrian Messenger ) marked the end of  feudalism in the Bassaleg Fields.  Intriguer House was sold to the Church of Rome as a private  Mole School,  but with a brilliant snub by Johnny- Boy upon the  ‘National Truss’ -  a venomous organisation  who were rounding up  Mole Hills for the nation and wanted Intriguer House despite  their Inspector, Jimmy Milly- Mole being a  trifle disappointed by the coarse, unrefined quality of the landscape and the general dimness of the area’s non-Anglican population. 

An Extract from " The Moles of Intriguer House, Bassaleg Fields, South Wales"

A parody on the Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales

By William Cross, FSA Scot

A Piece Of Madness - Written During Lockdown

                      FOR  MOLE/ MORGAN ENQUIRIES

                            PLEASE EMAIL WILL CROSS

                                      williecross@aol.com

 

John Morgan, 6th And Last Lord Tredegar

Died 17 November 1962

Frederic Charles John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar (26 October 1908 — 17 November 1962), was a Welsh Peer and Landowner.

Tredegar House : Failure To Attract Visitors Targeted

 

Tredegar House

Failure To Attract Visitors Targeted

‘The Very  Worst of Times’

  By William Cross, FSA Scot

 

Author of books on The Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales  

COVID 19 -Hit Tredegar House closed but the National Trust were staring at failure before the pandemic

 Newport has one of the highest number of COVID 19 infections in the whole of  Wales. This ghastly virus has taken many lives, it remains in free fall and a vaccine is still a far off  dream. The deadly spread and aftermath of the infection’s invisible power makes this a frightening era for all.  

 

Tredegar House, the old Morgan mansion, was closed for many months under the first Welsh government virus lockdown of March 2020,  and although there was a brief reopening in September-  early October 2020,  albeit with restrictions on the numbers of visitors, the house has closed again.  This closure  was  to  avoid  virus transmission to  National Trust staff and those members of the public who wished to go and see the Morgan’s old  homestead and enjoy it’s history, stories and relax or walk around the parklands,  lake and gardens.

 

Post-virus, it is going to be a slow recovery and a very costly one. In fact the world has changed so much by the affects of the virus that the good old joys of carefree days out and day in at places  of “Historic Interest or Natural Beauty” are on a slippery slope to oblivion and our thinking and actions may have to change in every form and have less expectation.

 

Organisations that aim to preserve the past (i.e. in Wales)  like the National Trust and CADW [i] are in deep financial peril too, with redundancies afoot,  and  they are perhaps doomed to ever bounce back or be able to offer the same pleasures or value for money. The heritage bodies will need to fall heavily upon virtual tours of sites. The staff and many volunteers at work in places like Tredegar House may never return in the same numbers or roles. The virus will be feared for years.  

 

Are Newport’s Payments to the National Trust  in 2022  moneys worth?

 

It is  an opportune time  to reflect on the 8 years of management of Tredegar House by the National Trust and ( looking ahead)  question the ‘money’s worth’ of  the National Trust pocketing (on 1 April 2022)   the further sum of £2,004,750 ( ie over 2 million pounds) from Newport City Council as a residual part of the 2012 transfer deal/lease.  

 

This huge payment  in 2022 from Newport’s coffers is no April fool.

 

Would  that money or any part of it be better spent on Newport  itself?   In these  chilling times should Newport Council not first  and foremost support the City’s present and future, the colossal needs, pre-virus vaccine and  in treating the  wounds of a post-virus world?

 

Is it time to try to negotiate, defer or cancel  this  payment to the National Trust, due in 2022,  especially as Newport’s citizens are in the throws of a desperate situation,  with many people condemned to years of uncertainty, recession, unemployment, ill health and misery.

 

It must be  right  to say ( albeit I say it  with sadness  as a  local historian and devotee of the Morgan family)  that  the  City’s  own people, infrastructures, services, and needs over the next few years must be sorted first, even if  at the expense of maintaining the area’s historic heritage,  legacies and  monuments. The same applies to funds earmarked for our  historical icons the Museums,  Newport Castle, the Transporter Bridge etc, people’s welfare surely must come first.

 

But can the Lease Agreement between Newport Council and the National Trust be revisited?

 

The Freedom of Information Act  Will Out

 

It is a curious fact that although the National Trust was set up by statute from 1907 onwards  and has powers to make by- laws , the Freedom of Information Act, 2000, (FOI)  exempts them from scrutiny or of requiring them to make any  public disclosures about their workings and decisions.  However in the case of Tredegar House’s lease some secrets   can be culled as Newport Council does come under the FOI legislation.

 

Visitor Numbers to Tredegar House

 

When the National Trust  took over the running of Tredegar House in 2012, one of their primary gaols was to build up the annual number of visitors to a target of over 120,000.

 

Using the FOI,  Newport Council has revealed to the Author the previously well guarded figures of actual attendance at Tredegar House for the past 7 years. [ii]

 

2013/14   57,280

2014/15   78,984

2015/16   90,285

2016/17   94,850

2017/18   88,309

2018/19   81,377

2019/20   89,234

 

As disclosed by the Author in 2017, [iii]  the 2012  Lease Agreement between the Council and National Trust ( with some £10m being payable between 2012 and 2062)  provided additionally  for the sum of  £150,000 per annum to be paid  to the National Trust as a “ Revenue Subsidy” for as  long as   visitor numbers at Tredegar House  fell below  120,000 per annum.

 

As the figures here show the National Trust started well but on the face of it have failed to pursue an agenda with a sufficiently successful mix of attractions, or prove the worth of  their house management decisions at winning increased support in public attendance.  There is  a repeated failure to capture a clear increase in the number of visitors in ANY of the last 3 years compared with the best year, over 4 years ago.

 

The rot was there long before the current pandemic. The National Trust  management have not fulfilled their  strategic goal over visitor numbers. They will perhaps  say in defence that in these past years conservation projects, as with  the fixing  a new roof, came first.  But the fact is they  reached  a plateau for visitor attendance in 2016/17 and this was far below the strategic figure planned of 120,000.

 

It is interesting that given the question above about the 2012 Lease Agreement being revisited or  changed that  it does look like that this can be done  and it  has already been re-negotiated.

 

According to the FOI Officer’s reply at the conclusion of the 2019/20 season,  Newport Council and National Trust agreed a settlement figure to fully discharge the obligation of the £150,000 per annum ‘Revenue Subsidy’  regarding visitor numbers.

 

The FOI reply adds “ The arrangement was due to expire in 2025 in any case and the stabilisation of visitor numbers at a sub 100k level meant it was unlikely that the 120k target would be reached before the payment arrangement terminated.”

 

So what was the settlement figure – Who benefits?

 

The FOI response was as follows “  The Council was obligated to 5 more years of payments of £150k per year (£750k) while visitor numbers remained below 120k.  The Council and National Trust agreed a settlement of the outstanding payments with a discount of 1 year's payment (£600k).” [iv]

 

This substantial cost to Newport Council appears to be is a very nice gift for the National Trust  to pocket when the country was on the verge of a further national lockdown.  That such a large sum should be removed from Newport coffers cannot benefit  Newport citizens when Tredegar House’s future stands out as being  uncertain as  are other  Welsh  visitor  attractions in the pre-vaccine era.  

 

[i] Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage sites of Wales, so that the public can visit them, enjoy them and understand their significance.

 

[ii] REQ08381 - Newport Council Payments to the National Trust at Tredegar House, Newport.

 

[iii] See “Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar: ‘Lord of the Lies’”. Book Midden Publishing (2017).

 

[iv] Reply to Freedom of Information Request REQ08448.  NB Newport Council later advised: “The final settlement payment was confirmed as received by National Trust on 9th of April 2020.  Please note that the attached letter refers to a final payment of 750k which included the payment due 1st of  March 2020.  This had already been processed therefore the final payment received by the National Trust in April was £600k.”   FOI REQ08496. Letter referred to held by the Author. Copy available on request.

 

" Visitor Attendance at Tredegar House 2012-2020."

“More Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar ‘Lord of the Lies’ As seen by friends, foes and lovers ” A new book about Evan Morgan, the last Viscount Tredegar was published on 9 November 2020.

https://morgan-myths.blogspot.com/2020/11/more-sketches-of-evan-viscount-tredegar.html

THE EROSION OF THE HISTORY OF THE MORGANS OF TREDEGAR HOUSE, NEWPORT

THE EROSION  OF THE HISTORY OF THE MORGANS OF  TREDEGAR HOUSE, NEWPORT’   

From  William Cross, FSA Scot

Author of seven books on the Morgans of Tredegar Park

[This is the introduction to the book “Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar, ‘Lord of the Lies’ ”published 4 December 2017]

For more information and a copy of the book contact William Cross by e-mail

williecross@aol.com

In common with many other Newport citizens  I  have an  affection  for  Tredegar House  and an interest in  the history of the Morgan family.

As a researcher,  historian, lecturer and author/ co-author of  seven books[1] featuring the Morgans of Tredegar House, my work on that family  is  in the public domain. Its shelf life and substance is ongoing until others revisit,  replace or overtake  it  with  further  texts and analysis  that  trace and  use  new  material and track sources. My ten and more years of Morgan family  research can be judged  by readers  as  to whether it  adds value or not and  achieves the  intention, that is, to provide a better understanding  and  appreciation  of  the  people within the  Morgan  dynasty. 

The existence of these seven books is to enhance knowledge about the Morgans using authorities   from checkable sources.  No one  else  has produced  a  book dedicated to  the Morgans in the last  20 years with the exception of  the  handbooks  by  David Freeman and Emily Price,  former Curators of Tredegar House.

The  story of Tredegar House and  the Morgan-Gould family[2] is  also about    Newport history  at the  same time as being  importantly  set in the wider  context of  the  hundreds of years of Welsh, Scottish and English history and events that have  shaped our country’s past.  

The National Trust became leaseholder of Tredegar House  and  adjoining  parkland in 2012.

The National Trust  at  local  and other levels  is  charged as the custodian until 2062  with  maintaining  the Tregegar House  property, its grounds and  parkland,  preserving and extending the House collections and accurately  relating   the  history of the  Morgans  to  the  public especially to visitors  going  to  Tredegar  House.

The fulfillment of  these  tasks, success  or  failure  should   be   transparent  so that  Newportonians are  able  to appraise  the  state of their asset and  investment.  There  is a  constant  cycle  as the seasons  change  within  the House and in the grounds  each aspect requiring a  varying  focus of  attention and output. Past years under the auspices of Newport Council have seen some impressive programmes of entertainment, history, house repairs,  and the steady purchase of   Morgan artifacts that have been  traced  for sale.

Newportonians have a right to consider  whether the National Trust  is  money’s worth. Newportonians should be  clear about the Trust’s  activities,  of whether  they   add  value  and /or  deserve  praise or criticism   by  their  actions,  policies, decisions and the extent of  reaching out  and   demonstrating  a  suitable,  worthy, relationship  with  Newport citizens, who ultimately  own Tredegar House, not the National Trust.

The price paid by  Newportonians to the National Trust  thus  far is  considerable. Under the terms of the 2012 lease and transfer over £9.5 million pounds has already  been paid to the Trust by Newport City Council. Other payments of almost £2.5 million pounds are due until 1 April 2062. [3]    This  is not common knowledge.

It  is  fitting for the National Trust  to   promote Tredegar House  by facilitating  its appearance on several popular  television shows, a model  began  by  Newport Council in the past [4] and of staging  several inspiring exhibitions  including  “The Treasures of Tredegar” that showed off the priceless  ‘Tredegar Salt’[5] and featuring the amazing 18^th century miniature cabinet, commissioned by William Morgan[6] that I was pleased to draw Emily Price’s attention to, when  Bonhams of London  first contacted me about it’s sale.   

Equally praiseworthy  is  the  staging  of  the recent  “Roof Tours”, “Cellar Tours” and   the  ongoing  support  for  children’s activities, pirate day and  school tours. Folk, dance,  musical shows and Christmas events are always popular provisions too.

2017 has seen  Newport’s  Tredegar House transformed by important and  exciting  conservation projects, not least a new roof replacement and restoration  work inside and  improvements outside the House. [7]

Some conservation seems ill-judged  –  expense having been  spent on restoring an animal skin that has no Morgan  history attached to it! [8] At the same time the  National  Trust   has overlooked  many items relating to the Morgans that  went  up for sale in the public domain and are now lost to Newport.

One of these items  is  a unique  piece of Morgan silver,  a   hunting flask, a gift from Godfrey Morgan[9], to his older brother Charles Rodney Morgan [10] in 1849 ( then heir to Tredegar House). This gift was made on the occasion of Charles’ ‘coming of age’.   Nor did the House show any interest in the re-discovery of a 1936  Rolls Royce first owned by Evan Morgan that received extensive media and local attention. [11] 

The ‘Friends of Tredegar House’ (FOTH)  have been steadfast  since  2012  in  maintaining  coverage in their regular Newsletters and web site  about significant   past and recent  Morgan personalities and Tredegar House history, including  past Tredegar Estate staff.  FOTH do  loyal  work  as volunteers in the House and grounds, they also    maintain  such important projects as  the Servants Index, and in 2014 held  a  Balaclava dinner, celebrating Godfrey Morgan ( 2^nd Lord Tredegar) and his great battle honour of  the Crimean war in 1854, but whose death  centenary in 2013  was not commemorated in any event  by  the  National Trust  at  Tredegar House.

                   

The ‘Friends’ are proactive too with regular new Morgan disclosures on a lively web site[12], including playing host in 2017  to a  kinsman[13]  of Charles Rodney Morgan’s French Catholic ‘wife’. [14]  The ‘Friends of Tredegar House’ also deserve thanks for promoting the only books on the Morgans. They also gave attention to the remarkable stories about the discovery of Morgan silver flask from 1849 and revealed the extraordinary story and fate of Evan Morgan’s 1936 Rolls Royce.[15]

Evan Morgan’s homosexuality has never been an easy subject to deal with on account of past laws.  2017 was an important year for LGBT[16] history, with the 50^th anniversary of the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 that saw some homosexuality legalized just short of twenty years after Evan’s death. In a year when the National Trust lost members nationally  as a result of its draconian application of diversity [17] / LGBT issues, one visitor to Tredegar House House in September 2017  recorded on social media “Volunteers at Tredegar House really don't know how to talk to visitors it seems about Evan Morgan's sexuality. Every allusion I have heard today has been accompanied by a kind of embarrassed giggle... surely we can get past the 'oooh matron' approach!” The writer thought it “a training issue”. The National Trust responded with “  Thank you for your feedback, we will pass this on to the local  team.” 

‘Cardiff Pride’ celebrations in 2017  were supported by the National Trust at Tredegar House. But there are unspeakable truths as Evan Morgan was a predatory homosexual with depraved tastes. [18]       

Looking back on 2017 it is a pity  that several milestones that were reached concerning the Morgans and related families were not marked  at  Tredegar House.

Overlooking landmarks of  the Morgan family   erodes  Morgan history.  As with the roof renewal and conservation projects Morgan milestones should be identified, and kept in focus by reflecting them in House activities or explaining their absence against higher priorities. 

Among the unsung landmarks of 2017  was the 150^th anniversary of the birth in 1867 of Courtenay Morgan and Lady Katharine Carnegie the 3^rd Lord and Lady Trademark, and the 80^th anniversary of the death of Lois Strut,  Evan Morgan’s  first  wife, in 1937. 

Another oversight  highlighted in the public domain locally in Newport  in 2017,  has been  the non-appearance by the National Trust at Trademark House  of any commemoration for   the  Morgan family’s  contribution  and  their sacrifices in the Great War or  mention  of the brave men and women who as Trademark Estate workers went to war, or maintained the House and lands at that time.   

Courtenay Morgan made a huge effort in the Great War providing his steam yacht ‘Liberty’ as a hospital ship,      (there are some exhibits that relate to Courtney’s maritime life in the House bought by the Friends of Tredegar House).  Courtenay also led   army recruiting efforts in Wales; his two sisters Blanche and Violet took ambulances and tea wagons into the war zones.    Morgan employees went to war,   and came back affected, shell shocked and maimed. Besides this  five great grandsons of the 1^st Lord and Lady Tredegar were killed in the conflict, including the only sons of  Blanche Hoare and Violet Mundy,[19]  the two sisters of Courtenay Morgan, 3^rd Lord Tredegar, remarkable ladies who frequently  acted as  hostesses for Courtenay at House events, so earning a perpetual remembrance  in the Morgan and Tredegar House  history.  Three members of the  Morgan- Lindsay family of Ystrad Mynach  also died [20], men who with their father, Morgan Lindsay [21]once made a major contribution to the history of Tredegar House  especially the marking of old Christmas  day on  6 January  and  the famous days of the  Tredegar Hunt. [22]

The  five  deceased great  grandsons of the  first Lord and Lady  Tredegar gave their lives.  At a time when the rest of Britain is commemorating the Great War with fitting acts, ceremony and respect, this sightlessness from the National Trust at Tredegar House is   extraordinary.

Jim Dyer, a local Newport historian wrote to the ‘South Wales Argus’ in 2017 [23] pointing out the facts about the five dead Morgan relations and suggesting a tribute with a memorial plaque.  This proposal was not acknowledged by anyone in the National Trust at Tredegar House.  On 11 November 2017 when the whole country observed two minutes silence for the dead from the Great War Tredegar House was dark and closed.

                                       

Administrative  bungling  in  2016-7    resulted in the disappearance from the gift shop  at Tredegar House  of the popular  books written about the Morgans in recent years. [24] This gap invariably limits visitor experience for those going to the House who want to learn more about the Morgan family.   

In  2018 I will substantially  increase the public  coverage  about  the existence  of  the  various Morgan books in press releases, web sites,  Facebook, Twitter,   Amazon, Abe Books, eBay and Alibris.  I intend to continue to produce further works  to   maintain   the most accurate  history and  veracity  of  information  about  the  Morgan dynasty and  challenge instances of sloppy, poor or just bad history relating to  the family.

William Cross,  FSA Scot, Newport, 4 December 2017

[ with slight amendments made for internet publication in 2018]

---

[1]          Cross, William. A Beautiful Nuisance : The Life and Death of the Hon. Gwyneth Ericka Morgan by Monty Dart and William Cross. Book Midden Publishing ISBN 9781905914104 2012. 

         Cross, William. Aspects of Evan : The Last Viscount Tredegar by Monty Dart and William Cross. Book Midden Publishing  ISBN 9781905914159 2012 

         Cross, William. Not Behind Lace Curtains: The Hidden World Of Evan, Viscount Tredegar. Book Midden Publishing ISBN9781905914210: 2013

         Cross, William. Evan Frederic Morgan, Viscount Tredegar : The Final Affairs, Financial and Carnal . Book Midden Publishing ISBN 9781905914241: 2014.

         Cross, William. Lois Sturt, Wild Child. A Glance at Hon. Lois Ina Sturt, Viscountess Tredegar Book Midden Publishing ISBN 978190514319: 2014. 

         Cross, William. and Morgan, Hon. Evan Frederic. Evan, Lord Tredegar, Selected Letters, Prose and Quotations. The Mystic Muse of Evan Frederic Morgan.  Book Midden Publishing ISBN 9781905914333 : 2015.  

         Cross, William. Evan, Lord Tredegar, Final Affairs The Aftermath:  The Welsh Poet & Pleasure Seeker. Book Midden Publishing ISBN 9781905914326 : 2016. 

[2] By 1792 the Morgan male blood line had failed. A female descendant of Thomas Morgan (1702-1769) named  Jane Morgan  was married to Sir Charles Gould, (1726-1806),  George III’s Judge Advocate General was knighted in 1779. Gould changed his name to Morgan  in 1792  and received a baronetcy.  This change continued the Morgan male line until 1962.

[3]  Newport City Council have provided the following data  in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and/or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. 

“The payments under the terms of the lease between Newport City Council and the National Trust  are as follows     

1.            £7,600,000 – on the date of transfer (19 March 2012)

2.            £308, 850 – on 1 April 2013

3.            £407,200 – on 1 April 2014

4.            £1,256,650 – on 1 April 2017

5.            £2,004,750 – on 1 April 2022

6.            £431,900 – on 1 April 2037

7.            £40,000 – on 1 April 2062

These payments go towards a Repairs and Capital Investment Fund for the maintenance and improvement of the premises.  There is a commitment for National Trust to use £4 million of this fund to complete the agreed backlog of repairs. 

In addition to the capital monies for this repairs fund, the Transfer Agreement also provide for a revenue subsidy of £150,000 per annum for the first 25 years of the Lease, towards the management costs incurred by National Trust.  However, this would cease to be payable if/when annual visitor numbers increase above 120,000.”

[4] Under Council administration Tredegar House appeared on several TV and radio shows, ‘The Hairy Bikers’, BBC Wales’ ‘Past Master’ and Dr Who and Torchwood were  also filmed there.

[5] ‘The Tredegar Salt’ is an Elizabeth I bell-shaped salt, parcel gilt from 1598, once in the Morgan silver collection and bears the Morgan coat of arms. It was sold off by the Morgans, but was purchased by Newport Council in 1995 for £154k.

[6] The cabinet is believed to have been created in 1720 during the reign of George I and specially commissioned for Sir William Morgan, owner of Tredegar House. Made of walnut and inlaid with boxwood and ebonised lines, it is particularly rare because of its size - effectively a scaled down adult's bureau - and may have been made for Sir William's son.  Bonhams of London contacted the Author and his writing partner Monty Dart when it was discovered that the cabinet had a Morgan history. Emily Price, the Curator of Tredegar House at the time applied successfully for grants and donations to secure the purchase back for the House.

[7] See also South Wales Argus 23 November 2017.  This article refers to the completion of the work on the roof by Christmas 2017.  It also indicates that the work has been achieved with support  of £15,000 from public donations including  a clever promotion in 2017 of a  “Sign a Slate” campaign and sales from the on site bookshop. There was also a grant of £150,000 from the Wolfson Foundation. It is extraordinary that no mention was made of the millions of pounds paid by Newport City Council to the National Trust since 2012 or accountability  for  “a commitment for [the] National Trust to use £4 million of  money paid by Newport Council ( namely out of  over £9million pounds paid since April 2012), to complete the agreed backlog of repairs.”

[8] See letter in the South Wales Argus  10 July 2017.

[9] Godfrey Charles Morgan (1831-1913) 2^nd son of 1^st Lord and Lady Tredegar.  Nicknamed ‘Godfrey the Good”.  Soldier and MP. Unmarried. Became 2^nd Lord Tredegar in 1875.

[10] Charles Rodney Morgan ( 1828-1854) eldest son of 1^st Lord and Lady Tredegar.  Soldier and MP. Died in Marseilles in 1854. A longer account of the life and death of Charles Rodney Morgan will appear in  “Myths About the Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales: Busting the History Fraudsters” in 2018. 

[11] See  Wales on Line 6 February 2017. An article by Huw Silk.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/incredible-car-used-rolls-royce-12565706

and Friends of Tredegar House  http://www.friends-of-tredegar-house.co.uk/the-morgan-family/evan-morgans-rolls-royce-found-in-usa/

[12] See Friends website  http://www.friends-of-tredegar-house.co.uk/

[13] This is Count Guillaume Hezez-Darlan De Bauyn  who visited Tredegar house in April 2017 as a guest of  the Friends of Tredegar House.

[14] Charles Rodney Morgan is linked on  French genealogy web pages to Emilie Renaud, ( 1827-1899) who  may have had a son Charles Morgan, born 1851.   NO RECORD has been traced  of a marriage between Charles Rodney Morgan and anyone in the English  Register of Marriages in the relevant period before 1851. That would give legitimacy to  the Charles Morgan born 1851 and  a granddaughter named  Bertha Morgan ( 1891-). French documents may exist to show the blood link. At the time of Godfrey’s succession in 1875 there were rumours of a challenge to him but these claims vanished. https://gw.geneanet.org/pierfit?lang=fr&n=darlan&p=alain

[15] See Friends of Tredegar House website.

[16] Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transexual community.

[17] See the article by Max Hastings in the Daily Mail of 14 September 2017.

[18] The artist Donald Friend says  Evan had an obsession  for seducing  the native boys of  Bali and  North Africa. Evan’s wealth,  position  and  high placed establishment protection   combined  to  make   it  easy  for him  to  pick  up   'rough trade'  on  streets and  cafes  and  lure  his   victims  into drugs, sexual shenanigans, black mass rituals and flagellation.  Surveillance reports from  MI5 on  Evan Morgan confirm Friend’s testimony.

[19] Lieutenant  Charles Morgan Hoare  (1893-1914)  15^th ( The Kings ) Hussars ( killed in action  24 August 1914) and Lieutenant Frederic Charles Mundy,  ( 1895- 1917)  MC,  RNVR ( killed in action 26 October 1917) 

[20] Captain George Walter Thomas Lindsay (1891-1917 ) CB Royal Engineers  ( killed in a flying accident 26 June 1917) 

Lieutenant  Archibald Thurston Thomas Lindsay      ( 1897- 1918)  Royal Engineers    ( killed in action 26 March 1918)

Major Claud Frederick Thomas Lindsay   (1892-1918)  Royal Field Artillery 1918 ( killed in action 31 March 1918)       

[21]  Henry Edzell Morgan Lindsay ( 1857-1935).  Son of Henry Gore Lindsay and Hon. Ellen Sarah Morgan ( daughter of 1^st Lord and Lady Tredegar).  Many will  recall the  experiences of the family of Colonel Morgan Lindsay – a grandson of the 1st Lord and Lady  Tredegar  from one of the most prominent sporting country gentlemen families in South Wales and Ireland during the  19^th/ 20^th  century. An example of  the dreadful effects the Great War had on families throughout South Wales, with the Colonel and his wife losing three of their four sons during the hostilities, including two in the space of a week in March 1918.

[22] Tredegar Hunt was maintained over many centuries and paid for by the Morgans. Taxation and other costs led to the Hunt being transferred to others to continue. A Tredegar Farmers Hunt still takes place in Bassaleg.

[23] See Letters  in  South  Wales Argus 28 August 2017.

[24] During  2016-7  the books on the Morgans by William Cross and Monty Dart  were removed from  sale from the Tredegar House gift shop  by  the National Trust.  During the course of a complaint about this a small reorder was placed.  It was not considered appropriate to action this during a complaint and the order lapsed. Matters led to an apology from a senior member of the National Trust staff at Swindon. 

Contact the Author for copies of the Morgan books or check Amazon or ebay.

A proof copy of  " Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar 'Lord of the Lies' " is now available from the Author William Cross at £5.00 ( p &p UK only inc) , whilst stocks last.       

e-mail 

williecross@aol.com