Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Pryse, Carbery
PRYSE, Sir CARBERY (d. 1695), mine-owner, was the son of Carbery Pryse, by his wife Hester, daughter of Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke, and grandson of Sir Richard Pryse of Gogerddan, Cardiganshire. He succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his uncle, Sir Thomas Pryse, in 1682. About 1690 mines were discovered on his estate at Bwlchyr Escairhir, Cardiganshire, the reputed value of which was so great, that they were called the ‘Welsh Potosi.’ Pryse formed a company, consisting of himself and twenty-four shareholders, but they were opposed by the Society of Royal Mines, and several lawsuits followed. Hampered by the difficulty of obtaining sufficient capital to work the mines, and by heavy legal expenses, Pryse and his partners made little progress. In 1693 they obtained ‘an act to prevent disputes and controversies concerning royal mines' (5 Will. & Mary, c. 6), empowering all subjects, of the crown to work their own mines in England and Wales, but securing to the crown the right of pre-emption. Pryse is said to have conveyed the news of the passing of this act to Escairhir within forty-eight hours. He and his partners now subdivided their twenty-four shares into 4,008 shares, for the term of twenty-two years and a half, and obtained considerable support for the new company. He died in 1695, leaving the company greatly in debt. He was unmarried, and the baronetcy expired with him. After his death, Sir Humphry Mackworth [q. v.] purchased his shares, and formed the famous Company of Mine-Adventurers.
[Burke's Extinct Baronetcies, p. 431; Meyrick's History of Cardiganshire; Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, ii. 647; A True Copy of Several Affidavits … of the Mines late of Sir Carbery Pryse, 1698; Waller's Essay on the Value of the Mines late of Sir Carbery Pryse; numerous tracts and broadsides relating to the Mine-Adventurers' Company.]