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Legislation against Catholicism was very
severe at this time. Nevertheless for the next one and a half centuries, the
Morgans the new proprietors remained staunchly recusant and were brought
to court time and time again for infringing one or other of the statutes
against Catholicism, e.g. harbouring priests. William Morgan was the eldest
son of John Morgan of Pencoed. He married Elizabeth Mansel of Margam.
Between them they established Llantarnam Abbey as a shelter for priests and
the Abbey became a rallying point for Catholics in the immediate area.
William, like his father John, served as Member of Parliament and High
Sheriff for the County. It is difficult to reconcile such public service
with adherence to Catholicism. It was well known that he harboured seminary
priests and later Jesuits. His public service ended in 1571 and on his death
in 1582, he was succeeded by his son Edward. Like his father and grandfather
before him, Edward represented the County in Parliament and as High Sheriff
and remained staunchly Catholic. Public offices required an oath of
allegiance to the Queen’s supremacy. Edward saw nothing incompatible between
his faith and loyalty to the Queen. His time at Llantarnam Abbey coincided
with the period when activity against recusants was particularly severe as a
result of the Gunpowder Plot and the arrival of the Jesuits in England.
Edward’s position was always made clear. It is on record, that until the
time of the Civil War, no recusant had paid as much in fines as Edward
Morgan. Eventually Edward negotiated with the officer of the Privy Council
who dealt with recusants and obtained a dispensation from the regular fines
by paying a lump sum of £1000 which was a very considerable sum of money at
that time. Since he lived to the age of about 83, he reckoned to have saved
about £1500 on the transaction! Money could prevail even on what was a vital
issue at the time. Edward was also imprisoned for his faith spending some
time in jail at Usk for failure to attend Church Services.
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