PUBLICATIONS
The following is a collection of publications that I’ve worked on recently. Some refer to the history of the Morleys in England and Wales and describe prominent figures such as Baron William Morley and his descendants in Norfolk, Sir John Morley of Llansantffraed in Monmouthshire, Anthony Morley of Glynde in Sussex and Walter Morley of Llangathen in Carmarthenshire. Others are personal and refer to the genealogy of both sides of my family which includes an unpublished biography of my father and his family. I have also included a list of my scientific publications which are too numerous to be included here but all can be found in the public domain. I hope you enjoy my work, and I invite you to contact me with any questions or inquiries.
Reflections on the Role of the Sussex Ironmasters in Elizabethan
Glamorgan
2010
This article re-assesses the influence that the Sussex ironmasters exerted on the development of the iron industry in Glamorgan in the sixteenth century. The case of Anthony Morley is examined in detail particularly with reference to his background in Sussex, his eventual bankruptcy and premature death in Glamorgan. The role and identity of other Sussex ironmasters who were also operating in Glamorgan at this time is discussed together with the acrimonious disputes which followed the sale of Morley’s assets. Previously unpublished contemporary documents reveal the substantial scale of production and the cost of manufacturing iron in Glamorgan at this time.
Origins of the Morleys in Carmarthenshire: 1500-1800
2010
The history of the Morleys in Carmarthenshire is reviewed in this account dating from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. The family originated in Bayton, Worcestershire, and a Walter Morley and his family are thought to have moved to Carmarthenshire at the end of the sixteenth century. This account follows the vicissitudes of his family starting with Walter’s financial obligations to Sir John Vaughan of Golden Grove and then moves on to show examples of how and where it expanded over the next two centuries with its mix of good fortune through marriage and occasional tragedy such as the loss of a William Morley at sea. Finally the history of Walter’s grandchildren, particularly those who were raised in Llangadog, is described together with details of their descendants who were present in Llandeilo Fawr, Llandybie, Llangadog and Llanddarog in the mid-eighteenth century.
The Rise of the Herberts of Raglan: the Norfolk Connection
2013
In the fourteenth century, Llansantffraed near Raglan, was the seat and estate of Sir John Morley, but very little is known about him, though his only child, Maud is better known. This account presents evidence to unequivocally link him with the Baron Morleys of Norfolk. He is thought to have been the elder son of William de Morley, the third baron, and he would have succeeded to the baronetcy in 1379 had he lived. His grandson, William ap Thomas, appears to have retained the connection with the Norfolk family as he served at Agincourt with Thomas Morley, who is thought to have been his second cousin, and who later became the fifth baron Morley. There seems little doubt that William ap Thomas and his son, William Herbert, used this maternal connection with the Morleys of Norfolk to further their quest for power and influence and this association almost certainly contributed to their rise to fame under both Henry VI and Edward IV.
Genealogy of the Morleys in South Wales: Glamorgan and the Vale
of Neath from 1700 to 1800.
2012
The first Morleys who can be positively identified in Glamorgan in the eighteenth century lived in the parishes of Llangyfelach and Cadoxton Juxta Neath. Their families are thought to have migrated from Carmarthenshire to Glamorgan early in the eighteenth century though there is no conclusive evidence to support this supposition. Full details of the baptisms, marriages and deaths of their descendants which have been obtained from the parish registers, particularly in the Vale of Neath, are described. The first person identified in this work is William Morley of Llangyfelach, originally from Llandybie, and a mariner who died at sea. The next person of note was also called William Morley but he was a yeoman residing in Cadoxton. He married Elinor John in Cadoxton in 1752 and they had at least eight children, some of whom are reasonably well documented in the parish records and in William’s will, dated 1814. Almost all of their descendants were employed in either the coal mines or in manufacturing industry. William’s second son, Thomas Morley (M2), married Catherine Hopkin also in Cadoxton in 1773 and they had at least five children before she died in 1787.
Genealogy of the Morleys in South Wales: Expansion of the
Family in the Nineteenth Century.
2012
By the middle of the nineteenth century the Morley family was well established in the counties of Glamorgan and Carmarthen. In the Vale of Neath, the first identified ancestor of this branch of the family, William Morley (L) had several children whose lives have been described previously. This account describes William’s descendants especially his grandson Thomas Morley (N1), whose life is well documented in the parish records. He married Anne Hopkin in Llantwit Juxta Neath in 1803 and they had eight children. Thomas (N1) was originally employed in the coal mines but later he became a fireman and then a doubler in a tinworks. About 1825 he moved with his family to Cwmavon where he worked for the Copper Miners Tinplate Works. His life and the lives of his children, especially his third son Thomas (O1), are described also in this article. At the time of the 1841 census there were only 74 Morleys in Wales with 60 of these living in Glamorgan. A brief account of some of these who were related to the lineal descendants of William Morley (L) is also presented here. Thomas Morley (O1), who is described as an engineer, married Margaret Benjamin in 1844 in Cwmavon and they had two children but sadly Margaret died in April 1848 during a widespread cholera epidemic. Thomas (O1) remarried in December that year to Anne Pierce from Ludgevan (in Cornwall) and together they had a total of ten children over the next 21 years. In the early 1850s, Thomas (O1) and his family moved from Cwmavon to Pontardawe where he was employed as a roll turner at the Ystalyfera Iron and Tinplate Company. In 1861 he again changed jobs and moved from Ystalyfera to Seaton, near Workington in Cumberland where one of his sons, William Henry Morley, was born. His work at Seaton was short-lived as he rejoined the Ystalyfera Works in late 1862 and remained there for at least another 13 years before moving once again to work in Morriston, Swansea.
Genealogy of the Morleys in South Wales: The Tinplate Industry
and the Twentieth Century.
2012
The life of one branch of the Morley family in south Wales is discussed in this article starting with Thomas Morley (O1) and his family who were described in a previous article. He was employed as a roll turner at the Upper Forest or Worcester Tinplate works in Morriston and his three sons followed him into this skilled occupation. His second son, William Morley, who was born in Workington, married Margaret Matthews in 1886. Following an initial job in Morriston, he moved frequently in his career. It appears that he first moved to Llangennech in Carmarthenshire for two years and then to Germany for around two and a half years at a tinplate works on the Rhine near Cologne. He returned to South Wales in late 1892 to work at the Gwalia Tinplate Works at Briton Ferry. He left this works in 1897 and moved with his family to Pontardawe to join the tinplate works owned by W. Gilbertson and Co., Ltd. About 1899, he moved yet again with his family to the Avondale Tinplate Works in Pontnewydd, Monmouthshire. By 1911 he had left Avondale to work at the Cardonnel Tinplate Works in Skewen but his wife Margaret refused to move and remained in Pontnewydd with most of his children. His sixth son Oswald (Os) Morley, who also features in this account, was born in Pontnewydd and worked initially in the local coal mine. Following the closure of the mine in 1927, he moved to London to seek work and stayed there for around ten years. He returned to his home in Pontnewydd in 1937 having gained employment at the newly opened Metalitho Factory in Cwmbran. He married Mary Davies from Ynysforgan, Swansea, in 1941 and shortly afterwards he was called up and served in the Royal Marines, travelling to North Africa and Italy. He was demobbed in 1946 and became active in local politics. He was a Labour Party councillor for Pontnewydd from 1952 to 1958 and retired from work in 1968. This account also provides some details of his brothers and sisters who were living in Pontnewydd at this time.
The Origins of the Morleys in England and their Early
Appearance in Wales.
2013
The Morley surname was well established by the fourteenth century in several English counties especially in Norfolk, Wiltshire and Lancashire where detailed records still exist. In Norfolk, there are frequent occurrences of the name from 1150 onwards with the Barons Morley of Norfolk very prominent medieval figures. Robert, the second baron, and Thomas, the fourth baron, were the most famous, but the direct line of the barons died out in 1442. One branch of this family possibly migrated west to Worcestershire by the sixteenth century and there are several examples of the name found there at this time. From the twelfth century onwards, several Morleys are recorded also in both Wiltshire and Oxfordshire and another important family had evolved independently in Mearley in Lancashire by the early fourteenth century. The latter acquired the estate of Wennington through marriage and a number of the descendants were prominent figures, such as the John Morley of Wennington, born around 1365. This manor and its estate, remained with the Morleys for more than 300 years. One of the early descendants, Nicholas Morley of Hertfordshire, was an MP for that shire and acquired the Glynde estate in Sussex through marriage. His descendants included Thomas Morley, who was a prominent Sussex ironmaster in the sixteenth century. In Wales, the Morley name is uncommon with Sir John Morley of Llansantffraed in Monmouthshire, being the first prominent person recorded. He was born around 1345, and thought to have been the first son of Baron William Morley of Norfolk. A second person of note was Anthony Morley of Llanwonno in Glamorganshire, born around 1535, who was the second son of the ironmaster Thomas Morley of Glynde. A third person, Walter Morley of Llangathen, appears around the same time in Carmarthenshire, though he was born in Bayton in Worcestershire in 1566. He is thought to be the progenitor of many of the Morleys now living in south Wales.
The Norfolk Morleys: The Tewkesbury Abbey Connection.
2015
This article explores the connection between the barons Morley of Norfolk and Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire where there are several records of the Morleys and a number of tenuous, if speculative, links between them and some of the monuments which still exist there. Thomas Morley, the fourth baron, was a very prominent figure in England and made a Knight of the Garter around 1411. He later became Lieutenant and Captain-General of all the English forces which were assembled in London for action in France in 1416. His association with Tewkesbury Abbey arose from his marriage in 1390 to Anne le Despenser, the daughter of Edward le Despenser, which possibly occurred at the Abbey that year. The main evidence supporting his connection to the Abbey comes from the Morley coat of arms which appears in the Founders' and Benefactors' Book of Tewkesbury Abbey under the entry for Edward le Despenser. The same coat of arms also appeared at one time in both the windows and the floor of the Trinity Chantry Chapel but these have been lost during several restorations of the Abbey.
Tracing the Genealogy of One Branch of the Davies family
in South Wales. Part 1: Glamorganshire.
2014
The genealogy of one branch of the Davies family in Glamorganshire is described in this account starting with Daniel James Davies. He was born in Clydach in the Swansea Valley in 1884 and brought up by his grandparents, James and Ann Tibbs. In common with many working men of this era in the industrial areas of south Wales, he became a coal miner. He married Elizabeth Jane Rees of Ynysforgan in 1907 and they had five children born over the next decade. All of the family were Welsh-speaking and non-conformists. Following the closure of nearby mines in the Clydach area, Daniel changed his job and moved to work in Morriston and became employed as a fireman in a steel works and remained there until his retirement; he died in 1961. His wife Elizabeth predeceased him and died in 1958. Her father, Richard Rees, was a local councilor on the Llangyfelach Rural District Council and a bard; he had married Hannah Lewis in 1881 and they had six children. Richard’s father was Thomas Rees, who was a wheelwright, and his family came from Welsh farming stock. In contrast, Daniel’s family was part English as his grandfather James Tibbs was born in Prestleigh in Somerset around 1838, and both his father and grandfather in turn, who were also called James Tibbs, were born in Somerset around 1810 and 1770 respectively. Daniel’s father, John Davies, was born in Carmarthenshire in 1859 but spent all of his working life in Clydach. He married Martha Tibbs, the eldest daughter of James Tibbs and Ann Tibbs, who he married in 1858. John Davies was the band marshal of the Calfaria Brass and Silver Band and he had been employed by the Hill's Merthyr Colliery in Clydach for over 47 years before his death in 1930.
Tracing the Genealogy of One Branch of the Davies family
in South Wales. Part 2: Carmarthenshire.
2014
The origins of the Davies family in the Swansea Valley is traced back to Carmarthenshire in this account which deals initially with John Davies who was born in the parish of Llandybie in 1859. His father Daniel Davies (O1) was born in Llanllawddog in 1826, and worked on the land initially but then he became employed in one of the many coal mines which had opened near Ammanford in the 1860s. He married Mary Thomas in 1848 and they had eight sons and two daughters. A number of his sons including John Davies later migrated east to Glamorgan to seek employment as the industrial revolution gathered strength there in late nineteenth century. Daniel’s father, Simon David or Davies (O) was also born in Llanllawddog about 1803 but he died in 1837 from an unknown cause. He married Esther Jones in 1823 and they had three children. Following his death, his widow, Ester, endured a very difficult life until she died in 1879. Simon (O)’s father has not been identified but it is thought that he may have been called Daniel also as this was the name of Simon’s first son. Although there is no record of the birth of a Daniel David in Llanllawddog at this time, there were many families with this surname present in the parish in this era. It is speculated that Simon (O) may have been named after his grandfather as there are several marriages involving Simon David recorded in the parish registers of the time but there is no definitive proof that any of these were related.
A Personal Recollection of my Father, Gurnos Oswald Morley,
and his family
2022
My father, Gurnos Oswald (Os) Morley, was part of a large family of eleven children. He was born in 1901 in Pontnewydd, Monmouthshire, and he attended the local Church School before starting work as a miner at Cwmbran Colliery around 1914. The same year three of his elder brothers, Tom, Bill and Luther joined the army to fight in WW1. All returned safely though Bill was injured in Flanders in 1917. In the mid-1920s, my father became a lay Congregationalist preacher speaking in several local churches, but following the closure of the colliery in 1927, he moved to London to seek work and stayed there for around ten years lodging in Palmers Green. While there, it is thought that he worked in the tinplate trade, though socially he was an active bass baritone singer, performing in amateur operettas such as the Mikado. He returned to his home in Pontnewydd in 1937 having gained employment at the newly opened Metalitho Factory in Cwmbran. He married Mary Davies from Ynysforgan, Swansea, in 1941 and shortly afterwards he was called up and served in the Royal Marines, travelling to North Africa and Italy. My father was demobbed in 1946 and became active in local politics. He was a Labour Party councillor for Pontnewydd from 1952 to 1958 and retired from work in 1968. Most of his brothers and sisters lived all their lives in Pontnewydd, excepting for Ivor, who had moved to Abertillery in 1911, Bill, who had moved to Widnes in Lancashire in 1917, Olive who had moved with her husband to Morriston in the 1930s, and Hilda who had moved with her husband to Florida in 1947. My father died in 1975.
Addendum: Tracing the Genealogy of One Branch of the Davies
Family in South Wales. Part 2: Carmarthenshire
2019
This account corrects and adds to an earlier article which described the earliest members of one branch of the Davies family in Carmarthenshire. In that article, the antecedents of one member of this family, called Simon David, who was born in 1803 in Llanllawddog, had not been identified, but more information has come to light demonstrating unequivocally that his father was called Samuel David or Davies (N) and his mother Dinah (N), née Simon. They had seven children and because they named their first son David, who was born a year or so after their marriage in 1800, it is suggested that Samuel’s father also bore the same name.
Tracing the Origins of the Morleys found in 18th Century
Glamorgan
2019
The origins of many families who moved to Glamorgan from the West Country and the Midlands during the early part of the Industrial Revolution are often unknown, as the parish registers are incomplete and official records did not appear until later in 1838. This study is concerned with tracing the origins of one such family, called Morley, who appeared in the Vale of Neath in the early eighteenth century. They were yeomen whose descendants became involved in the fledgling tinplate industry there as the family expanded. Links between early family members have been established by exploring their wills where available and original source material from the National Library for Wales. Further connections have been made possible by using the accepted English genealogical practice of tracing the family by following the sequence of family Christian names. This process has successfully enabled connections to be made between the family in Glamorgan and their antecedents in Carmarthenshire. The progenitor of this family has been identified as originating from Bayton in Worcestershire and it is believed that the family originally descended from the Morleys of Norfolk in the thirteenth century.