Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales
In The Post Virus World
Is
this the Shape of things to Come?
The National Trust works in a mysterious way, but there are leaks. A
recent article in the ‘Daily Mail’ [1]
revealed a “secret 17- page memo [2]described
on its front page as ‘a ten year vision’ [3]..
“described by the Mail as making “ chilling reading for those who cherish [The Trust’s] traditional role of preserving
great homes and their contents”. [4]
The memo attacks the Trust’s
‘outdated mansion experience, serving a loyal but dwindling audience’ and
proposes an ‘urgent review of the opening hours of properties, along with a
policy of putting art and antiques collections into storage so rooms can be
used to develop “ new sources of experience –based income.” [5]
If this unattractive scenario
is the fate of Tredegar House i.e. to be in the words of a Trust insider a
property to be “repurposed” [6]
does Newport want it that way for its Morgan time capsule? Newport
still owns the house, the National Trust are leaseholders. Might the asset be better sold off lock stock
and barrel or turned over to a Welsh
Heritage Trust (along the lines of CADW or a new post virus body?). Or is there
support for acquiescing and the House being refashioned as a National Trust guinea pig? Lawyers may be the only beneficiaries of any challenge.
Additions
to the Collections at Tredegar House : More Omissions
It is further reflection upon
the failed management of Tredegar House by the National
Trust that some Morgan artefacts that have appeared for sale in the public
domain have been snubbed. It is unclear what, if any, substantial additions to
the Tredegar Collections have been made in recent years under the Trust’s
regime. It is ONLY by having a good spread of new features and discoveries
that will attract visitors, rather than languish
in a graveyard of pictures and furniture offerings that have remained largely
unchanged for several years.
The Appendix of this book
refers to a number of items that caught
the Author’s eye where the National Trust may have benefited from their
purchase to enhance visitor experience or
by having them on hand for display, or at least adding them to the Collection where they have valid Morgan family provenance or new visitor appeal credentials.
Compellingly, the fabulous
collection of Chinese/ Tibetian art that was sold by Bonhams of London (and its
branches elsewhere) in December 2019 is a monumental loss to Morgan history, and whilst
the sums of money involved were high, the point is many of these stunning items
were previously owned by Courtenay and Evan Morgan. Several pieces sold in 2019
for comparatively modest prices.
Visitors would have come miles to
see them on show at Tredegar House. Bonhams contacted the Author at the time the
items were being catalogued for sale – in September 2019 -and information about
them was conveyed to the National Trust at Tredegar House. [7]
It seems they did absolutely nothing to try to acquire any single piece. What a
shame. In previous years Newport Council
have done far better than the National Trust in seeking grants, donations, and
funding for Morgan artefacts, even where items were estimated to fetch into the
many tens of thousands of pounds. [8]
In bygone days popular events at Tredegar House brought in the crowds too. A recent article in the ‘South Wales Argus’ mourns many of the events staged by Newport
Council when Tredegar House’s true heart beat was for the people of Newport. [9]
We shall not see those days again.
9 November 2020
EXTRACT FROM A NEW BOOK BY WILLIAM CROSS
“ More Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar, ‘Lord of the Lies’
” ( 2020)
COPIES OF THE BOOK MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE AUTHOR WILLIAM CROSS - ALSO ON AMAZON AND EBAY
e-mail Author
wiliecross@aol.com
FOOTNOTES
[1] Daily Mail, 22 August 2020. “Is The National Trust Turning
Into A National joke?” by Guy Adams.
[2] The memo is the work of Tony Berry, a senior visitor
experience director if the Trust.
[3] Daily Mail, 22 August 2020.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] E-mails exchanged re: Sources re Tibetan art
at Tredegar House with Robin Hereford
Director of Private Clients, UK Bonhams.
5 Sept 2019. Dear Mr Cross: This autumn at Bonhams we are offering a
collection of Tibetan / Chinese bronzes for sale this autumn that according to
family history were owned by Courtenay Morgan in the 1920s / 30s. He
acquired them from someone called Alice Getty, who was born in Michigan, and who travelled extensively in the Far East
collecting bronzes with her father before settling in Paris. I was wondering if you had ever
encountered her name amongst any correspondence with the family, or if you had
ever noticed any records / inventories mentioning a collection of Tibetan /
Chinese bronzes at Tredegar? Any
thoughts would be most welcome!
With best wishes, Robin
Hereford
5 September 2019: Hello Robin.
Interesting mail. This is new territory. I haven't seen
anything in the Archives that clicks. So I’ll pass this
email to my writing partner Monty Dart )( copied to this
reply). She will send it to Emily Price, the Collections Manager at
Tredegar House ( it’s now a National Trust property). Not least it
will serve to inform Emily of the existence of the items coming up
in case of interest in bidding. But Emily will also check I’m sure
to see if they have anything relevant to add to the background story from
Tredegar House.
Otherwise, the following may be
something or nothing! But from a quick flick through sources I see that
Evan ( Courtenay’s son) opened a “Tibetan Exhibition” at the Berkeley
Galleries on the 14th December 1945 ( The Times has it in
their daily diary)
The Times of 27th November 1945 also
has an appeal worded :
“ TIBETAN OBJECTS wanted to purchase for the
Exhibition of Tibetan Art at the Berkeley
Galleries 20 Davies Street,
London W1”
It seems there was also an earlier
exhibition in 1943 and Evan contributed. This is described as a “
delightful exhibition of Chinese Art at the Berkeley Galleries…. Many of
the lovely things are lent by private collectors, including Lord Tredegar,
Major Peter Harris, Mrs. V. Alport, Mr. A. Kaufmann, Mr. E. Keeling”
Source : The Tatler – 16 June 1943.
I don’t know if any of Evan’s item(s)
in these exhibitions are the same as those you have for sale, but it's
possible. You will know how to track down the
original Berkeley Galleries catalogues - if still available and
worthwhile. Evan did collect Chinese jade. I believe he visited
China
with Peter Watson the art collector. Hard times hit Evan in the
1940s so his art collection was flogged to private buyers.
Dear Will :
Thank you very much for your swift reply, and for the very interesting
information. From the dates we have it could be that some of Evan’s items
that were exhibited in 1945 are the ones we are offering: we will track down
the catalogues and see if they can shed any light!
Thank you too for sending the message on to
Monty and the NT, and once they are photographed I will send you a selection of
photos and a copy of the catalogue.
Best wishes,
Robin
[8] This article below on the rare ( c1720) Morgan owned Cabinet 8 August 2010 is relevant to prove this point
when funding of £69,600 was generated by
Newport Council’s Collections Curator at Tredegar House.
http://www.friends-of-tredegar-house.co.uk/archive/miniature-cabinet-returns-to-tredegar-house/
[9] “The
house and grounds became major visitor attractions, even before the National
Trust took over the property.
Some of my best memories of the house
include the annual Newport
show, that included home wines, crafts, jams and other competitions. The prizes
were nominal, usually less than a pound.
In the summer open air Shakespeare was a big attraction. My
favourite performance was of A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Cwmpas Company
on a particularly fine summer's evening.
In September the Vintage Car Rally
attracted thousands of visitors and was a really enjoyable day. The weather was
usually kind.
There were also antiques and craft fairs throughout the year.
One year the South Wales Argus sponsored a motor show,
supported by all the main garages ahead of the new registrations. I can even
recall an open air concert. The audience brought their own picnics. If they had
the foresight, they would have brought their own waterproofs as well.
It is a shame these events no longer
take place In Tredegar House. It is a real asset to Newport.” South Wales Argus 4 October 2020. Sarah
Wigmore.
