Myths  About  The Morgans of Tredegar House  

                

                   EVAN MORGAN AND BLUE BOY


 MYTH  MAKING  

AT  TREDEGAR  HOUSE

    CATHOLIC MYTHS ON EVAN, LORD TREDEGAR


LINK BELOW 

http://myths-evan-tredegar.yolasite.com/


Myths About the Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales: Busting the History Fraudsters: NEW BOOK FROM WILLIAM CROSS - 2018

BOOK RELEASE  AFTER 30 APRIL 2018

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Myths-About-Morgans-Tredegar-Newport/dp/1905914423

        

    Worst  Lies at Tredegar House

          'Blue  Boy'  The  Parrot

             Silly Trouser Trick  

One  of the most  congenital   lies  told  to visitors  at Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales ( a National Trust property)   is  a  silly   odd  ball  tale  about Evan Morgan’s parrot ' Blue Boy' , a  hyacinth  macaw.

The history  fraudsters claim  that  Evan ( the last Viscount  Tredegar, who died in 1949)  trained the bird  to crawl  up the inside of his trouser leg and to poke its head out through his flies. 

Amusing? Rude?   And, good  grief what nonsense! 

Consider the  size of a hyacinth macaw.  As  well as being exceedingly  brave (or foolish)  Evan - who certainly had  a way with birds-  would have needed to own a  pair of  clown sized  baggy  trousers for the  trick to  be just attempted  never mind succeed.

One of  Evan's closest  friends reveals  the origin of this devious  tale about  'Blue Boy'  –  which has been in  circulation for over  20 years,  and which  fueled  by its persistent  telling   like all lies   has gained it’s own life, legend  and momentum.

The background   account of  the story's chequered  history comes from the travel writer  Robin Bryans  who  comments   about the idea of  Evan  legs  and  middle being  ruffled up  and  fleeced by Blue Boy as  “ Not very nice  was  it? .......And not very accurate, either.”

The source of the expose  is in Bryans ' memoir   “ Let the  Petals Fall” .  He adds   that   the   late Hugh  Montgomery  Massingberd, went to Tredegar House  in the 1990s  during the time  that he [ Massingberd]   was researching a newspaper article and was compiling his  epic and glossy text book “Great Houses of England and  Wales”.  The inclusion of  Tredegar House  by Massingberd  in his  popular book was  good for marketing the place. Much  of  what he records     except for the  inaccurate coverage on Evan is typical of books on  stately homes. 

Massingberd over heard a guide in the House tell a group of visitors :

 'One of his Lordship's party tricks was to let a parrot crawl up his trouser-leggings and then peep out from his fly buttons. ‘

It was good copy. But with  little  regard  to whether the  story  was accurate or not   Massingberd  swept what he'd  overheard  into his book and  therefore gave it credence.  It   entered the public domain  and this nonsense on par with  some of the images  from  the  far fetched sketches from Edward Lear's imagination  has been  regularly repeated and believed.

There is a famous photograph  of  Evan with 'Blue Boy'  and a group of  visitors.  See below.

No one knows why the women look aghast.   The image - on display in the House-  is sometimes  used to back up the trouser trick .  There is another misrepresentation  given  of  why  the two women in the picture appear surprised and  look away. It is often  said their reaction was   because of Blue Boy's bad language. The bird  is remembered in one staff memory  from  Tredegar  House as " swearing like a trooper".  In truth the photograph does stand out because of the women's  body language  but it is much more likely  that the two women were scared of the damned  parrot, it had a reputation for being  violent and unpredictable.     

Trouble  also in  the  story of Blue Boy's feat crawling up Evan's trouser leg  is that it is  not ever  mentioned in  any  recollections  by servants, estate staff or   Evan’s  friends  who came  to stay at Tredegar House  in Blue Boy's era  in the mid- 1930s to  the start of the   Second World War   ( when Evan's menagerie was dispersed to various zoos).

The story of Blue Boy's trick ascending Evan's trousers  must  be  dismissed as  mischievous  and made up in house to suit the crowd.   

Welsh author  David Conway doubts the story too and records in his book  "Magic Without Mirrors  "

"There was ..a macaw that accompanied its owner [ Evan] everywhere but, contrary to popular legend, is unlikely to have climbed up the inside of his trouser leg so as too frighten lady visitors by peeping out from between the buttons of his flies. A budgerigar might manage it, but certainly not a macaw." 

It is  an   endless  game of the truth and   spot  the lie, spot  the conspiracy as so many stories  told in  Tredegar House to visitors  are contrived and  have been shown to be false ,  dodgy   and   so, sadly,  suspicion must  surround everything that  does not have a  clear cut,  genuine or  written source.

Spotting  what is true  and what has been conjured up by the old guard at Tredegar House whilst they twiddled their thumbs  on a dull, wet day when they had nothing better to do is a  very serious matter.  Of course no one admits the manipulation of facts and history. 

The return to Tredegar  House  of former Council employees who were guides in past years makes the current project by the  National Trust of  ' Myth Busting'  a tall order. There remains a hard core of insiders  who will not change nor be challenged.    So much so that the point has been reached  where there is no integrity  on  much of the  information given out to visitors.  Does it matter? As a historian I think it does. The National Trust should ensure it matters too.

There are stories that can be told of 'Blue Boy' that are verified by good sources. 

Earlier  solid and  confirmed  testimony on 'Blue Boy' comes  from writers like   Daphne Fielding who  refers to  “ Evan's familiar  as  a vicious macaw that took women's jewels and dropped them in the huge log fires at  Tredegar Park.”   Another witness  who mentions  'Blue Boy'  is the  literary critic  Alan Pryce- Jones who  refers to Evan allowing  “ himself to be teased by a formidable macaw named Blue Boy, which liked to bestow hammer blows at great speed between his toes, bare in the bathroom.”

 These are several other  true stories and accounts  about 'Blue Boy' worth  citing.   These will feature in a forthcoming new book. See below. 

 Tredegar House should use and cite  the real stories mentioned above  and dump the trouser lark for good. If they are serious about myth busting this one on the trouser trick  currently ranks as one of the worst lies.

Otherwise put up the  source of the trouser tale before it was first  mentioned by Massinberd in 1994. 

This is  a  draft extract from a  forthcoming book entitled   " Myths About the Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales" Busting the History Fraudsters. edited by William Cross, FSA  Scot  ISBN 978-1-905914-42-5 

ANY QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT EVAN MORGAN'S BIOGRAPHER  WILLIAM CROSS FSA SCOT

AUTHOR OF SIX BOOKS ON EVAN, VISCOUNT TREDEGAR

 

williecross@aol.com

Short  Reading  List  for   stories on  Tredegar  House  and Evan  Morgan mentioned  in  above  article


"Let  The Petals Fall" by Robin Bryans ( 1993)

"Those Remarkable Cunards  : Emerald & Nancy" by Daphne Fielding       ( 1968)   

"The Bonus of Laughter" by Alan Pryce-Jones ( 1987) 

Magic Without Mirrors : The Making of a Magician :  David Conway          (2011) 











He [ Evan Morgan ]  had a pet macaw who terrified his friends and once pecked a black pearl…" -- Source - Tredegar  Lectures"

" One of Evan's pet macaws was using my leg as a ladder for claws and beak, to climb up to the sofa. Evan had a predilection for exotic creatures..... Source -  Julian Huxley ' Memories'