Kinnaird Castle: Seat of the Carnegie Family and Southesk Earls: Birthplace of Lady Katharine Carnegie. later Lady Tredegar 1867-1949
Lady Katharine Agnes Blanche Carnegie, Later Lady Tredegar and finally Viscountess Tredegar of Tredegar House, Newport and Honeywood House, Rowhook, Surrey
LADY KATHARINE AGNES BLANCHE CARNEGIE (1867-1949
A short note by William Cross, FSA Scot
LADY TREDEGAR OF TREDEGAR HOUSE NEWPORT AND HONEYWOOD HOUSE, ROWHOOK, NEAR DORKING, SURREY
BORN : KINNAIRD CASTLE, BRECHIN, SCOTLAND, 12 JUNE 1867
DIED : BELGRAVIA, LONDON, 4 OCTOBER 1949
I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER, THE HOUSE WHERE I WAS BORN
Lady Katharine Agnes Blanche Carnegie, born Kinnaird Castle, Brechin, Scotland on 12 June 1867, died London, England, 4 October 1949. Peeress, Artist, Patron of the Arts, Writer of Children’s Stories.
Katharine was painted twice by the Welsh artist, Augustus John. She was also painted by the Society painter, Ambrose McEvoy. One of the Augustus John pictures remains in the Carnegie family home at Kinnaird Castle. The other Augustius John and the portrait by McEvoy are both on display at the Morgan seat of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales.
In 1890 Katharine married Courtenay Charles Evan Morgan ( 1867-1934), who inherited the title of Lord Tredegar ( from his uncle Godfrey Morgan, 2nd Lord Tredegar ) in 1913.
Katharine had two children, a son Evan Frederic Morgan ( who succeeded his father in 1934 and died in 1949) and a daughter Gwyneth Ericka Morgan, who died in grim circumstances in 1924.
Katharine ( nicknamed ‘Kats’ and ‘ Kassie’ ) was the daughter of James Carnegie, the 9th Earl of Southesk and his second wife Lady Susan Murray. She had siblings and half-siblings. And much of her childhood was spent in happiness at the Carnegie family seat of Kinnaird Castle, her birthplace. Hence the caption “ I remember, I remember the house where I was born”. Kathariine adored Kinnaird Castle and found it hard to adjust to married life .and Wales.
Neither marriage nor motherhood suited Katharine. She hated Wales, could not live with Courtenay at Ruperra Castle ( where the heir to the Tredegar Estate lived) and despite several tries at matrimony in the end did not live with her husband, they parted, Courtenay took mistresses. Katharine enjoyed her independence and a certain isolation living in London and at Honeywood House, Rowhook, near Dorking in Surrey, She was an eccentric character, gifted as a writer of children’’s stories, with one published book entitled ‘ The Crimson Ducks’. Katharine was a regular attendee at the ballet and opera. She contributed generously to Welsh charities during the Great War. and was great maker of plum puddings.
Sadly, Katharine suffered mental health issues. The sadder fact is that her husband and two children predeceased her. After her son Evan died at Honeywood House in April 1949, Katharine was moved to a flat in Belgravia ( for full time nursing care ) where she died on 4 October 1949. Her final affairs were dealt with by the Carnegie family.
Katharine's memory is held in great regard by present generation members of the Carnegie family, it is a sad reflection that the only stories told to the public at the Morgan seat at Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales are greatly tainted tales of Katharine as a dotty mad woman who thought she was a bird, sitting in giant nests.
Added to this are unreliable at best only anecdotal references to Katharine “ sat atop a nest wearing a 'bejewelled beak'.’ These are vile descriptions of a woman who was affected by a nervous condition that was not helped by the personal tragedies she suffered, disappointments and a bad marriage. There are stories of Katharine that show her in a different light as a Society figure, liked, respected and as a sister and an aunt.
Contact the Author William Cross, FSA Scot for further details.
e-mail williecross@aol.com