William Price (1690 – 4 July 1774) was a Welsh High Sheriff and antiquarian. Price was a member of the Price family from Rhiwlas, in the parish of

Llanfor Llanfor is a village in Gwynedd, Wales near the town of Bala, in the community of Llandderfel. History There is evidence of an Iron Age Hill Fort in the immediate area and Roman Castrum. In the 6th century an unknown Monk from Llanfor was re ...

, near Bala,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. He was the grandson of William Price, a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

and

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

colonel during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. Price was educated at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

there in 1707. He left

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

without taking a degree. He served as

High Sheriff of Merionethshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Merionethshire (or Sheriffs of Meirionnydd). The historic county of Merioneth was originally created in 1284. The administrative county of Merioneth was created from the historic county under the Local Government Act ...

from 1730 to 1731, and High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire (a county where he owned extensive property) from 1731 to 1732. He was an antiquarian: letters from him about antiquarian remains and the Bala

eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, ac ...

of 1747 are held by the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. Five bards composed englynion in his honour at an eisteddfod in Bala in 1738. He was probably the William Price of "Rhulace" who was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in 1752 and who resigned in 1771. He died on 4 July 1774. He had married twice: firstly Mary, daughter of

Price Devereux, 9th Viscount Hereford Price Devereux, 9th Viscount Hereford (1664 – 3 October 1740) of Vaynor Park, Montgomeryshire and Ombersley Court, Worcestershire was a British Peer. He was the son of Price Devereux (who died before his own father in 1666) and grandson o ...

and secondly Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Bulkeley, Viscount Bulkeley of Baron Hill. He was succeeded by his son, the MP

Richard Thelwall Price Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

(1720–1775).

References

1690 births 1774 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Welsh politicians High Sheriffs of Merionethshire High Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire {{Wales-bio-stub