Introduction To New Book
By William Cross, FSA Scot
FAKE NEWS
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"......Shakespeare
Fake news is the scourge of today's Society.
As a researcher into the Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales, and the Author of seven books on members of that family, I am concerned over fake news, myths, and bad history about them in the public domain.
For instance, in 2017 several articles in a local Welsh newspaper were riddled with inaccuracies about Lady Katharine Carnegie, Viscountess Tredegar (1867-1949) and John Morgan, last Lord Tredegar (1908-1962). The newspaper trail in time past also carries fake news.
During 2016, a film was shown to visitors at Tredegar House about a 'black box' of secrets belonging to Evan Morgan, the last Viscount Tredegar. The claim in the film was that private documents about or written by Evan, who died in 1949, had come to light since his death. The assertion continued that since these items could not be traced elsewhere they must have come from the mysterious 'black box' it is said that Evan left behind.
The film featured a group of students engaged in a foolish treasure hunt, apparently using geophysical scanners in the grounds of Tredegar House to try to locate the 'black box' buried there. The film ends with nothing being found. The equipment was as phoney as the film; the consequence was the creation of fake news.
It is for those charged as custodians in preserving the accuracy and integrity of the Morgan family's legacy (currently, The National Trust) on behalf of Newport (as the City owns Tredegar House), to identify and expunge such trite as the above, treated as true history, besides, which, those who guard Morgan history should not be seen facilitating the erosion and falsifying of that history.
It is equally paramount to prevent other erroneous tales being imparted to the general public visiting Tredegar House and through wild stories appearing in articles, newspapers or books that could be prevented with monitoring and influence over those responsible.
In the exploits of the Morgans no single person or body holds all the information in every detail about their rich, chequered lives, their loves, hates, achievements, successes and failures in their history.
There is always room for more academic study and other research, for liaison, frank discussion, argument, differing opinion etc, and lessons from revisiting the family's vast array of records and re-appraising the historical interpretations about the Morgans, but a story that is contrived or distorted is fake news. Allowing the outpouring of fake news is reprehensible.
In this short book the aim is to point out some of the myths and stories secreted over the years into books, web sites and articles or from those personally heard on public tours at Tredegar House. I offer, in good faith, information (and sources) to support the Morgan family's history in order to bust the mockery and deceptions created by myths and fake news.
I would be pleased to receive any comments/ information/ documents/stories etc from readers about any of the items in the book on the Morgans or their collaterals that may be suitable for inclusion in a follow-up edition. I would also be happy to correct my errors.
William Cross, Newport, South Wales: 30 April 2018
Contact the Author William Cross for a PDF copy of the above with footnotes on sources
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Myths About The Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport
Non-FictionAmong the myths about the Morgans of Tredegar House is that they are descended from the Welsh Princes. Some also claim they have a family link to the notorious Captain Henry Morgan, the blood thirsty pirate of the Caribbean. Whilst at least one Lord...
