Morgan Williams was a wealthy coal magnate from the Vale of Neath and a member of a landowning family whose tenure of property in the Cadoxton and Aberpergwm area can be traced back to the 1560s.
Educated at Eton and Peterhouse Cambridge, Morgan played twice for Glamorganshire – his debut came at the Arms Park in 1870 when he appeared against Monmouthshire and scored 0 and 2. He met with less success with the bat on his second and final county outing, against Radnorshire at Llandrindod Wells with Morgan bagging a pair.
He owned Aberpergwn Colliery and some smaller mines in the Vale of Neath, and served as High Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1875, besides being a Governor of the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. In 1876 he also oversaw renovations to his family’s ancestral home at Aberpergwm near Glynneath.
His wealth and social standing allowed Morgan in 1899 to purchase the St. Donat’s Castle Estate. He moved there with his family soon afterwards and from 1901 oversaw a number of improvements to the property.
WILLIAMS, Morgan Stuart
Born: Aberpergwm, Glynneath, 25 January 1845.
Died: St. Donat’s Castle, 13 December 1909.