Welcome to the Lower Machen Church Remarkable Books Collection.
Here you can order books or make a donation if you have a book(s) picked up at one of our churches or another heritage location.
PLEASE NOTE THAT 100% of the proceeds raised through this web page will go to the Parish Trust, our Christian charity working in the community. Specifically you will be helping the Parish Trust CARE PROJECT which focuses on alleviating poverty and improving the lives of people of all ages.
TO ORDER BOOKS FROM OUR SUMUP STORE
We suggest a £5 donation for the Hatchments Book, a £6 donation for the ‘ ‘Remarkable’ Morgan Chapel Book and a £10 donation for a copy of both books, these donations can be Gift Aided.
We will add £3.25 to all orders towards postage & packing.
IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A BOOK AND WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION, please click the button below. Please select “I am making a donation for a book I already have (no postage) “ in the delivery option
If your address does not include a house number, please insert your house name or “-” in the house Number box on the SUMUP Checkout page.
The Morgan Family Hatchments at Lower Machen Church
Full-colour large-format 28pp
This large-format full-colour book was researched and written during the 2020 Covid 19 lockdown with the help of the staff and volunteers at Tredegar House and others.
In a very entertaining manner, it tells the story of 10 members of the hugely important Morgan family of Machen & Tredegar from the unusual perspective of their funeral hatchments at Lower Machen Church. In doing so, it teaches how to interpret the hatchments by describing the 900-year Morgan genealogy back to their royal roots in the ancient Welsh kingdoms.
There are facts about how the Morgans influenced local history and how they were involved in national and international events, including the defeat of Richard III at Bosworth Field, the Napoleonic Wars and the Industrial Revolution. The book also introduces Lady Rachel who is said to have ‘cursed’ the descendants of Thomas Morgan and very nearly brought the Morgan line to an end, a real-life story that may have been the inspiration for Dickens “Bleak House”.
The “Remarkable” Morgan Chapel at Lower Machen Church
Full-colour large-format 44pp
Written with the help of Tredegar House staff & volunteers and others, this book celebrates the 2020/21 restoration of the elegant Morgan Chapel and monuments.
The monuments are fully described and the book is an insight into the lives and personalities of the Morgans of Machen, Tredegar and Ruperra.
Starting with John Morgan ‘The London Merchant’ taking £50 to the City of London in the late 1600s to return a fabulously wealthy man, the book moves through the centuries until the end of the Morgan dynasty in 1962. Along the way, the book explores John’s pedigree back to the ancient kings & princes of ancient Wales.
Then, there is the strange story of Katharina who as a teenager was nearly buried alive but went on to outlive the mourners at her funeral by over 50 years!
The book shows how throughout the 18th century Morgans gained influence by marrying into other wealthy families and their roles in Parliament and as lawmakers. We see how the marriage of Sir William Morgan to Lady Rachel Cavendish and his premature death caused decades of family strife and legal dispute which almost brought down the Estate and nearly ended the Morgan line. Throughout the 19th century, the estate benefited from the industrial revolution under the stewardship of the Gould Morgans and we learn about Revd Augustus Morgan who was a significant social reformer who was responsible for many improvements in education for the working classes. Finally. the book considers the last Morgans to live at Ruperra including Frederic Courtenay Morgan who fought with his brother Godfrey (1st Viscount Tredegar) at Balaclava and the subsequent decline of the Tredegar Estate through the 20th century.