Protheroe, Dr Daniel (1866-1937)
Musician and composer. Born at Gough Buildings, Ystradgynlais in 1867. He emigrated to America at the age of 19. After periods in Scranton and Milwaukee he settled in Chicago. He conducted several choirs, was a tutor at Sherwood Music School and Director of Music at Central Church. He was the foremost musician amongst the Welsh community in the USA and travelled back to Wales almost every year for the National Eisteddfod. He composed much music for choirs and died in Wales in 1934.
[CAO B/X/13/1]
[CAO B/X/13/1]
Pryce, John (fl.1566)
The son of Matthew Pryce of Newtown Hall (below) who was sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1548. John Pryce was a justice for the county and served three terms as MP for the Montgomeryshire boroughs and two as MP for the shire. He was sheriff for the year 1566 and again in 1586. His son Edward was Sheriff in 1615.
[W.V. Lloyd - The Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
[W.V. Lloyd - The Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
Pryce, Matthew (fl.1548)
The Price or “Ap Rhys” family of Newtown Hall were influential in the upper Severn valley during the Yorkist ascendency. As Matthew ap Thomas ap Rhys he was one of the earliest appointed magistrates for the newly formed county of Montgomeryshire and served as its sheriff in 1548.
[W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
[W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
Pryce, Sir Matthew (d.1674)
Second son of Sir John Pryce of Newtown Hall. He was Sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1659-60.
[MC 27]
[MC 27]
Pryce, Richard (fl.1651)
Of Gunley (or Gwnlle) in the parish of Forden, Montgomeryshire. A well-established family, they had held Gunley and other estates in this part of the border with Shropshire since at least the early fifteenth century. "Captain Richard Pryce", as he is recorded, was a commited Parliamentarian. He demolished Montgomery castle at the orders of Parliament in 1649 and served on the Commission to look into the indemnity of the inhabitants of Montgomery for their losses during the Civil War. He was appointed Sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1651. On the Restoration of Charles II, he was arrested for his activities in the Parliamentary interest.
[MC 27]
[MC 27]
Pryce-Jones, Albert Westhead (1870-1946)
1 international football cap for Wales 1895. Winger (1884-1897) for: Shrewsbury School; Clare College, Cambridge; and Newtown (intermittently). AW Pryce-Jones was the son of Sir Pryce Victor Pryce-Jones, owner of the Royal Welsh Warehouse (RWW) woollen manufacturing business and one time MP. Pryce-Jones left Cambridge to become a director of the RWW, firstly in Wales and then with the Canadian subsidiary firm. During the First World War he raised and led the Lethbridge (Calgary) Highlanders and commanded them in France.
[Davies & Garland]
[Davies & Garland]
Pryce-Jones, Sir Pryce (1834-1920)
Pryce Jones was born on October 16th 1834 in Newtown, Montgomeryshire. He apprenticed to a local draper, John Davies, and took over the business in 1856. In the same year he married Eleanor Rowley Morris of Newtown. The business, renamed the Royal Welsh Warehouse, flourished.
In an attempt to sell his goods to as many people as possible he developed the idea of sending patterns of merchandise to local gentry, which then led on to him sending out lists of available merchandise from his own and other factories much further afield, eventually advertising abroad. One of his products was the patented Euklisia Rug - an all-in-one rug, shawl, blanket and pillow. This was used extensively by German troops during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1 and later became known as a sleeping bag.
Large new premises were built in Newtown in 1878 to house the expanding business and it was opened with much pomp and ceremony on 3rd October 1879. In 1882, while Pryce Jones was campaigning to become Conservative MP for the Montgomery Boroughs, he met the Post Master General and suggested the idea of developing a parcel post to him. A letter post already existed but parcels had to be sent by road and rail carriers, sometimes at great expense - obviously an important consideration for a mail order business. The Post Master General took up his idea and the Parcel Post was developed as a result.
Pryce Jones did become an MP from 1885-6, and during 1892. He became High Sheriff for Montgomeryshire in 1891. For his services to commerce, he was given a knighthood in 1887 and changed his name to Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones. He also paid for the construction of All Saints Church in Newtown at a cost of £3000. The Royal Welsh Warehouse had in the meantime acquired its own printing press and in 1890 produced its first illustrated catalogue to replace the simple price lists that had been sent out previously.
The family lived at Dolerw, a large house on the North side of the river in Newtown.
[DNB;DWB; MC]
In an attempt to sell his goods to as many people as possible he developed the idea of sending patterns of merchandise to local gentry, which then led on to him sending out lists of available merchandise from his own and other factories much further afield, eventually advertising abroad. One of his products was the patented Euklisia Rug - an all-in-one rug, shawl, blanket and pillow. This was used extensively by German troops during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1 and later became known as a sleeping bag.
Large new premises were built in Newtown in 1878 to house the expanding business and it was opened with much pomp and ceremony on 3rd October 1879. In 1882, while Pryce Jones was campaigning to become Conservative MP for the Montgomery Boroughs, he met the Post Master General and suggested the idea of developing a parcel post to him. A letter post already existed but parcels had to be sent by road and rail carriers, sometimes at great expense - obviously an important consideration for a mail order business. The Post Master General took up his idea and the Parcel Post was developed as a result.
Pryce Jones did become an MP from 1885-6, and during 1892. He became High Sheriff for Montgomeryshire in 1891. For his services to commerce, he was given a knighthood in 1887 and changed his name to Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones. He also paid for the construction of All Saints Church in Newtown at a cost of £3000. The Royal Welsh Warehouse had in the meantime acquired its own printing press and in 1890 produced its first illustrated catalogue to replace the simple price lists that had been sent out previously.
The family lived at Dolerw, a large house on the North side of the river in Newtown.
[DNB;DWB; MC]
Pryse-Jones, William Ernest (1867-1949)
5 international football caps for Wales at football 1887-1890. Forward (1884-1897) for: Shrewsbury School; Jesus College, Cambridge; and Newtown. "Mr Ernest", the son of Sir Pryce Victor Pryce-Jones, owner of the Royal Welsh Warehouse woollen manufacturing business and one time MP, was a more accomplished footballer than his brother AW Pryce-Jones (see above). He served with the South Wales Borderers for 5 years from 1897 but then worked for the family firm until it was taken over in 1937.
[Davies & Garland]
[Davies & Garland]
Pryse, John (1826-1883)
Of Llanidloes (and Rhayader?).Proprietor, printer and publisher of the Mid-Wales Telegraph and Observer, a Conservative newspaper established in 1850. He published Pryse's Hand-book to Llandrindod Wells and the Brecknockshire natural springs and a book of poetry, Breezes from the Welsh Mountains, and well as assorted tourist guides.
[Newspaper Cutting at the County Archives Office ref. R/X/75/1]
[Newspaper Cutting at the County Archives Office ref. R/X/75/1]
Puget, Rear Admiral Sir Peter (1765-1822)
Descended from Huguenot ancestors who settled in London and Ireland after the persecutions of Louis XIV. Peter Puget's grandfather John first settled in Ireland where he established a poplin and linen factory. In 1717 he moved to London and founded the Puget and Bainbridge Bank. Banking became the family's main commercial activity, Peter's brother John becoming a director of the Bank of England in 1790. Peter himself entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1778 at the age of twelve serving in the West Indies, Gibralter and the English Channel before being appointed as a lieutenant on H.M.S. Discovery under Captain Roberts. Originally destined to survey the East African coast, plans were changed and a Captain Vancouver took the Discovery instead to the west coast of North America where she was to oversee the transfer of the Nootka Sound, recently ceded by Spain to Britain. The ship was also commanded to survey the area, search for a North West passage and circumnavigate the globe. Puget quickly established himself as skillful surveyor and was given command of the armed tender Chatham by Vancouver in 1793. This post he held until the end of the voyage in 1795. He was appointed Commander in 1796 and post-Captain the following year. Between 1798 and 1809 he commanded ships of the line on various European stations before obtaining a staff post at Flushing, thus being involved in the ill-fated Walcheren expedition. From 1810-18 he was Commissioner for the Navy at Madras and was knighted in 1819. He became Rear Admiral of the Blue.
He married Hannah Elrington 1797 and first settled in London where he prepared Vancouver's manuscript for publication. In 1801 the family moved to Presteigne, living first at Broadheath House and then the Red House (or Brick House) in Broad Street. Puget's friend and colleague on Vancouver's voyage Captain Joseph Baker was already living in the town at the time of the move. Puget fulfilled the roles in the community expected of a country gentleman. He served on the grand and petty juries and among other trials he served on the jury during the trial of Mary Morgan. He became a justice of the peace and a trustee of the Radnorshire Turnpike Trust in 1806. His closest friends in the area were Captain Baker and John Whittaker of Newcastle Court, both of whom had a young Puget named after them. On his retirement from the Navy and return from India the Pugets moved first to London and then Bath where Sir Peter could get treatment for his troublesome gout. He died there in 1822.
[DNB;CAO R/X/11/229; Keith Parker in Presteigne Parish Magazine]
He married Hannah Elrington 1797 and first settled in London where he prepared Vancouver's manuscript for publication. In 1801 the family moved to Presteigne, living first at Broadheath House and then the Red House (or Brick House) in Broad Street. Puget's friend and colleague on Vancouver's voyage Captain Joseph Baker was already living in the town at the time of the move. Puget fulfilled the roles in the community expected of a country gentleman. He served on the grand and petty juries and among other trials he served on the jury during the trial of Mary Morgan. He became a justice of the peace and a trustee of the Radnorshire Turnpike Trust in 1806. His closest friends in the area were Captain Baker and John Whittaker of Newcastle Court, both of whom had a young Puget named after them. On his retirement from the Navy and return from India the Pugets moved first to London and then Bath where Sir Peter could get treatment for his troublesome gout. He died there in 1822.
[DNB;CAO R/X/11/229; Keith Parker in Presteigne Parish Magazine]
Pugh, Richard (fl.1627)
Of Dol-y-corslwyn in the parish of Cemmaes. Richard Pugh came from a branch of the Pugh family of Mathafarn. He served as juror, magistrate, and in 1627, sheriff for the county.
[W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
[W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
Pugh, Rowland (d.1644)
Of Mathafarn in the parish of Llanwrin. The family have been recorded here since medieval times and Pugh was a descendant of the fifteenth century poet and landowner Dafydd Llwyd ap Llewelyn. Rowland Pugh was a barrister-at-law and 1602 was appointed steward of the lordship of Cyfeiliog to Sir Henry Townshend, Chief Justice of Chester. In 1606 he was appointed magistrate for the county of Montgomeryshire. He served as sheriff of the county in 1609 and 1626, and served as foreman of the grand jury in 1611.
[W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
[W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
Pughe, Rev. Richard (d.1861)
Son of Rev. Richard Pughe, rector of Llanfihangel-y-traethau and Llandecwyn, rector of Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa to 1858. Died 27 July 1861.
[County Archives Office M/D/BOM/4, M/D/BOM/5/32, M/D/BOM/5/37]
[County Archives Office M/D/BOM/4, M/D/BOM/5/32, M/D/BOM/5/37]
Purcell, Nicholas (fl.1553)
The exact ancestry of Nicholas Purcell is in dispute but it is clear that the family held property on the Shropshire border and most likely that Nicholas Purcell was one of the Purcells of Marton in the parish of Chirbury. His father Richard was a bailiff of Shrewsbury and it is likely that Nicholas’ main interests were on that side of the border though he held the manor of Talerddig and the rectory of Berriew. Nicholas himself was master of a trade guild, the Fraternity of the blessed Trinity and was one of the Shrewsbury merchants claiming the right to trade in Welshpool in 1535. He seems to have held some office at the abbey of Strata Marcella and was later involved in selling off materials from the abbey after dissolution. He was bailiff of Salop in 1536 and MP in 1539. In 1553 he was appointed Sheriff of Montgomeryshire and elected MP again for Shrewsbury and served at sessions in Montgomery and Welshpool as one of Montgomeryshire’s magistrates.
[MC 63; W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
[MC 63; W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
Purcell, Thomas (fl.1597)
Of Dinthill, near Shrewsbury. He was the grandson of Nicholas Purcell (q.v.) who was Sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1553. His father Nicholas Purcell served as M.P. for Shrewsbury and was a bailiff of the town. Although Thomas Purcell was in his turn lord of the manors of Overgorther and Teirtref Issa and, in 1597, Sheriff of Montgomeryshire, he probably was resident at his Shropshire property as he never served as magistrate or juror in Montgomeryshire. His steward Howel Porter served as his deputy-sheriff during his shrievalty.
[MT 63; W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
[MT 63; W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]