When exploring aspects of Newport’s history we frequently come across references to “Sir Charles Morgan” and “Lord Tredegar”. It is helpful to bear in mind that there were three men with the title “Sir Charles Morgan” and six men with the title “Lord Tredegar”.
Sir Charles Morgans
Let’s first look at the three men with the title “Sir Charles Morgan”.
The first was not born with the surname Morgan! He was Charles Gould, born 1726, his father being King Gould, deputy judge advocate general. In 1758 Charles married Jane Morgan, eldest daughter of Thomas Morgan, a baronet, owner of the Ruperra and Tredegar estates. In 1771 Charles Gould succeeded his father in law in the office of judge advocate general and was knighted in 1779. Then in 1792 Charles came into the Tredegar and Ruperra estates through his wife Mary. The last of her brothers left alive had died and since all her brothers were childless she was next in line. So in 1792, through his wife, Charles became the first baronet Tredegar and assumed the name and arms Morgan.
Charles Gould (Morgan) died in 1806 and his eldest Son, Charles, born 1760, inherited the estate and the title baronet. (Presumably he too was originally named Charles Gould and like his father changed his name in 1792.) As a baronet he was now addressed as Sir Charles Morgan. He married Mary Margaret Stoney and they had eight children. Their eldest son, Charles Morgan Robinson Morgan, born in 1792, inherited the estate and baronetcy in 1846.
Charles Morgan Robinson Morgan married Rosamond Mundy in 1827 and they had eleven children. The eldest, Charles Rodney Morgan, did not outlive his father. The inheritance was passed to Godfrey Charles Morgan, born 1831. As the third baronet, Charles Morgan Robinson Morgan was addressed as ‘Sir’ from 1846. But in 1859 he became a peer when the title Baron Tredegar was created and from then on would have been addressed as Lord Tredegar.
To summarise, the three Sir Charles Morgans:
1792 – 1806 The first Sir Charles Morgan. Born Charles Gould 1726. Knighted 1779. Baronet in 1792, changed name to Morgan. Died 1806.
1806 – 1846 The second Sir Charles Morgan. Born Charles Gould 1760. Changed name to Morgan 1792. Baronet in 1806. Died 1846.
1846 – 1875 (or 1846 – 1859). The third Sir Charles Morgan. Born Charles Morgan Robinson Morgan, 1792. Baronet in 1846. Baron in 1859. Died 1875. (It could be argued that he was known as Sir Charles Morgan from 1846 to 1859. After 1859 he would have been known as Lord Tredegar.)
Lords Tredegar
The first Lord Tredegar was Charles Morgan Robinson Morgan (see above). He became a peer in 1859 for services rendered to Disraeli’s Tory government. He had married Rosamond Mundy in 1827 and they had eleven children. The eldest, Charles Rodney Morgan, died in Marseilles in 1854 just 25 years of age.
The second Lord Tredegar was Godfrey Charles Morgan, born 1831 at Ruperra Castle. He is remembered for his part at the Battle of Balaclava – commanding a section of the Light Brigade that charged into the “Valley of Death” in 1854. He was the next in line to inherit the peerage and family estate when his father died in 1875. In 1905 he was created Viscount Tredegar. Godfrey did not marry so when he died in 1913 inheritance had to make a sideways jump in the family tree.
The third Lord Tredegar was one of Godfrey’s nephews (son of Godfrey’s brother, Frederic Courtenay Morgan) – Courtenay Charles Evan Morgan, born 1867. He inherited the estate and peerage, but not the viscountcy. (This could only go to a direct descendant.) However he was created a viscount in 1926. Courtenay married Katharine Agnes Blache Carnegie and they had two children Evan Frederic Morgan and Gwyneth Ericka Morgan. Gwyneth died in mysterious circumstances, her body was found in the River Thames at Rotherhithe after she had been missing for several months.
The fourth Lord Tredegar was Evan Frederic Morgan, born 1893. He inherited the titles (baronet, Baron and Viscount) and Tredegar estate in 1934 when his father died. He married twice. In 1928 he married Lois Ina Sturt. She died in Hungary in 1937. Then in 1939 he married Olga Sergeivna Dolgorouky, a Russian princess, while in Singapore. This marriage ended in 1943 when she was granted ‘decree nisi nullity’. Thus, on his death in 1949, Evan had no direct descendant. Once again a sideways jump in the family tree was necessary to decide inheritance.
The fifth Lord Tredegar was Evan’s uncle – Frederic George Morgan, age 76 in 1949. The viscountcy did not pass on to him, but the peerage did. Frederic George Morgan was born in Ruperra Castle in 1873. He married Dorothy Syssyllt Bassett in 1898 and they had two children – Syssyllt Avis Morgan and Frederic Charles John Morgan (John Morgan). For financial reasons (to avoid death duties) Frederic did not inherit the estate but passed it on to his son. He did not hold the title Lord Tredegar for long, he died in 1954.
The sixth and last Lord Tredegar was Frederic’s son, Frederic Charles John Morgan (John Morgan). He had inherited the estate in 1949 and like his father appeared to have no close ties with South Wales. He sold Tredegar House soon after it came into his hands. He was born in 1908 and married Joanna Law-Smith in 1954. She had been married twice before (and married twice again after Frederic’s death). Frederic died in 1962 and with him died the title “Lord Tredegar”
To summarise, the six Lords Tredegar:
1859 – 1875 Charles Morgan Robinson Morgan, born 1792, inherited baronetcy and Tredegar estate 1846, became Baron Tredegar in 1859, died 1875.
1875 – 1913 Godfrey Charles Morgan, born 1831, became Baron Tredegar 1875, Viscount Tredegar 1905, died 1913.
1913 – 1934 Courtenay Charles Evan Morgan, born 1867, became Baron Tredegar and inherited the estate 1913, became Viscount Tredegar 1926, died 1934.
1934 – 1949 Evan Frederic Morgan, born 1893, became Baron and Viscount Tredegar and inherited the estate 1934, died 1949.
1949 – 1954 Frederic George Morgan, born 1873, became Baron Tredegar 1949 (but passed estate straight on to his son), died 1954.
1954 – 1962 Frederic Charles John Morgan (John), born 1908, inherited the estate 1949, Baron Tredegar 1954, died 1962.
