[1] Pritchard was the son of a captain in the navy, was born, it is said, at sea, in 1799, and, adopting his father's profession, became a midshipman.

In August he played under Bunn, at the New Theatre, Birmingham, Lord Trinket, Sir Benjamin Backbite, and other parts, and reappeared in Bath on 30 October as Irwin in Mrs. Inchbald's Every One Has His Fault.

Parts such as Jaffrer, Pythias, Iago, Edmund in King Lear, Richmond, Jeremy Diddler, and Duke of Mirandola, were assigned him.

He then joined Murray's company in Edinburgh, appearing on 16 January 1823 as Durimel in Charles Kemble's adaptation Point of Honour.

Soon afterwards he was Richard I in Talisman, and on 4 July George Douglas in Mary Stuart (the Abbot); Harry Stanley in Paul Pry followed.

Charles Edward, or the last of the Stuarts, adapted from the French by a son of Flora Macdonald, was given for the first time on 21 April 1829, with Pritchard as the title character.

He took a secondary part in the performance of The Lady of Lyons, and was the original Felton in Sheridan Knowles's Woman's Wit.

Pritchard retired ultimately to the country, and became the manager and sole lessee of the York circuit for his final nine years of his life,[2] where he continued to act.