William Pryce (baptised 1735–1790) was a British medical man, known as an antiquary, a promoter of the

Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a List of revived languages, revived language, having become Extinct language, extinct as a livin ...

and a writer on

mining in Cornwall Mining in Cornwall and Devon, in the southwest of England, began in the early Bronze Age, around 2150 BC. Tin, and later copper, were the most commonly extracted metals. Some tin mining continued long after the mining of other metals had beco ...

Life

He was the son of Dr. Samuel Pryce of

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, and Catherine Hill;

William Borlase William Borlase (2 February 169631 August 1772), Cornish antiquary, geologist and naturalist. From 1722, he was Rector of Ludgvan, Cornwall, where he died. He is remembered for his works ''The Antiquities of Cornwall'' (1754; 2nd ed., 1769) ...

was a great-uncle on his mother's side. Philip Webber of Falmouth acted as his guardian when he was left an orphan. He claimed to have studied anatomy under John Hunter, and from about 1750 he practised as a surgeon and apothecary at Redruth. Pryce owned a small share in the copper mine of

Dolcoath Dolcoath mine ( kw, Bal Dorkoth) was a copper and tin mine in Camborne, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Its name derives from the Cornish for 'Old Ground', and it was also affectionately known as ''The Queen of Cornish Mines''. The site is n ...

in Cornwall. For ten years he was also an investor in the adjoining mine of Pednandrea, which was worked for both tin and copper. It was near the future site of the

Redruth railway station Redruth station serves the town of Redruth, Cornwall, United Kingdom, and is situated on the Cornish Main Line between Truro and Camborne. The station is from via . Great Western Railway manage the station and operate most of the trains, with ...

. Soon after 1778 Pryce "became M.D. by diploma" and on 26 June 1783 he was elected

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

. He was buried at Redruth on 20 December 1790.

Works

Pryce published his major work, the ''Mineralogia Cornubiensis'', in 1778. It was a study of the mining world of Cornwall, historical and practical. A second work, ''Archæologia Cornu-Britannica'', was published in 1790. It contained a

vocabulary of 64 page, and a grammar. Much of the material was taken directly from the collections of

Thomas Tonkin Thomas Tonkin (1678–1742) was a Cornish landowner and historian. Early life He was born at Trevaunance, St Agnes, Cornwall, and baptised in its parish church on 26 September 1678, was the eldest son of Hugh Tonkin (1652–1711), vice-warden of ...

and

William Gwavas William Gwavas (1676–1741) was an English barrister and writer in the Cornish language. Life The eldest son of William Gwavas, by Eliza, daughter of Sir Thomas Arundell of Tolverne, near Truro, he was born at Huntingfield Hall, Suffolk, 6 ...

, as acknowledged in the preface.

Family

Pryce married Miss Mitchell of Redruth, and left two sons, William Pryce and Samuel Vincent Pryce, both of whom became surgeons there.

Notes

;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pryce, William 1735 births 1790 deaths English surgeons English apothecaries 18th-century English medical doctors English antiquarians Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People from Redruth