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PAYNE, Richard (1661-1725), of Lewes, Suss. and Burstow, Surr.
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Constituency
Dates
Family and Education
bap. 31 Jan. 1661, 4th but 2nd surv. s. of Richard Payne of Burstow Park, by Elizabeth, da. and coh. of William Alcocke of the Friars, Lewes. m. (1) by 1689 Anne Farding (d. 1689) of ?Collenden, Suss., 1da.; (2) 24 Jan. 1692, his cos. Mary (d. 1718), da. of Thomas Pellat of the Friars, Lewes, 8s. (4 d.v.p.) 3da. (2 d.v.p.).1
Offices Held
Surveyor duties on marriages, births and houses, Suss. 1697.2
Biography
Payne was descended from a family of yeomen who had been settled at East Grinstead, Sussex, since the late 15th century. They prospered in the late 16th and early 17th centuries and his grandfather purchased Burstow Park in 1649, adding to an estate which came to consist also of additional lands in Sussex. His father received a grant of arms in 1661. Although a younger son, Payne inherited some of his father’s property in Lewes, Ovingdean and West Hoathly and within the manor of Redhill in Surrey. A Whig, he was returned for Lewes in 1702 on the Pelham interest. He was noted late in October 1704 as a probable opponent of the Tack, but was still deemed a necessary lobbying target by Secretary Harley (Robert*), voting against the measure on 28 Nov. He was, however, wholly inactive. On 5 Dec. he was granted a fortnight’s leave in order to attend his sick wife. His absences from the House became a somewhat regular occurrence: he was granted leave for unspecified periods on 10 Dec. 1705 and 1 Mar. 1707, and on 16 Dec. the same year was allowed a six-week period of absence. Re-elected at Lewes in 1705, he was classed as ‘Low Church’ on a list of the new Parliament, a reflection of his Whiggish opposition to the Tack. He voted on 25 Oct. for the Court candidate in the contest for the Speakership, and supported the Court over the ‘place clause’ of the regency bill of 18 Feb. 1706. He was classed as a Whig in lists of early 1708, but stood down in the ensuing election. He died intestate and was buried at St. Peter and St. Mary’s church, Lewes, on 18 Mar. 1725.3