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Godfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar

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Godfrey Morgan
1st Viscount Tredegar
1910 painting of Lord Tredegar by George Frederick Harris
Born(1831-04-28)28 April 1831
Died11 March 1913(1913-03-11) (aged 81)
NationalityWelsh

Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar (28 April 1831 – 11 March 1913)[1] was a British Army officer and peer.

Tredegar was born on 28 April 1831 in Ruperra Castle, Glamorganshire, the eldest son of Charles Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar. He was educated at Eton and joined the British Army in 1853.

Inscription to Godfrey Morgan, the 1st Viscount Tredegar

When the Crimean War broke out in 1854, Tredegar, aged 22, held the rank of Captain in the 17th Lancers and accompanied his famous regiment to the scene of the great struggle. He was in action at the Battle of Alma and later on 25 October 1854 was in command of a section of the Light Brigade that rode into the 'Valley of Death' at the Battle of Balaclava, which he survived. Godfrey's horse, 'Sir Briggs', also survived, and lived at Tredegar's home, Tredegar House, Newport, Wales, until his death at the age of 28. He was buried in the Cedar Garden at Tredegar House (though not with full military honours as is frequently believed).[2] The monument still stands there today.

In later years, as other members of the Morgan family had been in the past, he became a benefactor to the people of Newport. Large tracts of land were donated to the Newport Corporation for the benefit of the public, including Belle Vue Park, the Royal Gwent Hospital and Newport Athletics Grounds. This earned him the nickname of "Godfrey the Good" among local people. He served as High Sheriff of Monmouthshire for 1858.[3] Tredegar succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Tredegar in 1875.

Tredegar House

In May 1902 he bought the lordships of the manor of Newport and Caerleon from the Duke of Beaufort, including the right to appoint a member of the Newport Harbour Commission.[4]

He was created Viscount Tredegar, of Tredegar in the County of Monmouth on 28 December 1905,[5] and become the first Freeman of Newport in 1909.

He was awarded the Freedom of the City of Cardiff on 25 October 1909.[6]

Tredegar died on 11 March 1913[7] aged 81 and is buried at Bassaleg Parish Church. He never married and on his death the viscountcy became extinct and his barony and baronetcy and the Tredegar estate passed to his nephew Courtenay Morgan, who spent little time in Wales.

Sculpture in Cardiff by Sir William Goscombe John

A statue of The Viscount Tredegar was unveiled in 1909 in Gorsedd Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff. The sculptor was Sir William Goscombe John.[8]

References

  1. ^ Person Page - 7472 The Peerage
  2. ^ Paul Busby - Tredegar House Tour Guide, at the Balaclava Dinner talk, Tredegar Arms, Bassaleg 2012
  3. ^ "No. 22091". The London Gazette. 3 February 1858. p. 539.
  4. ^ "Sale of the Duke of Beaufort′s estate". The Times. No. 36782. London. 31 May 1902. p. 12. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
  5. ^ "No. 27871". The London Gazette. 5 January 1906. p. 107.
  6. ^ "HONORARY FREEMAN OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF CARDIFF" (PDF). Cardiff.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  7. ^ Who's Who 1916, xxiv has the date as 12 March.
  8. ^ Statue of Godfrey, First Viscount Tredegar Archived 9 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Breconshire
1858–1875 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire
1899–1913 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Viscount Tredegar
1905–1913 		Extinct
(revived 1926)
Preceded by Baron Tredegar
1875–1913 		Succeeded by

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