Payne

A Francis Payne signed the surrender agreement that allowed Preston Hippisley to enclose a field called ‘Indown’ in Emborough in 1711 and members of Pain/Payne family appear in the records of several villages in the area. Two members of the Payne family died in accidents involving horse-drawn vehicles as evidence that the slower pace of life did not necessarily make it safe. The picture on the left is taken from one of the iconic pictures of Litton and it shows Fred Payne.

Fred Payne (senior) was a butcher at Greendown. He had four children. His eldest son was George Payne.

George  Payne  married Sarah Ann Uphill they had 6 children,  Bertram, Florence, Fred, Ethel, Evelyn, Winifred. George and Sarah Payne were the parents of the Fred Payne shown with his family below and provides a direct link to several people still living in the area. George was a butcher but he operated out of what became Denning’s butchers in the Folly in Chewton Mendip.  George and Sarah Payne had several children who are listed below in date of birth, which is recorded where known.

The William Payne who married Rosina  came from a different branch of the family. They had at least eight children. Maurice, who ran the garage,  and Seward who worked for Mendip Motors are the best known and are listed below.

Sarah Annie Payne, Fred and Caroline Payne’s  youngest daughter, married William Sherbourne and their daughter Blanche married Cecil Hooper, Brian Hooper’s mother.

Elizabeth Payne  married George (Grigg) Speed in 1891. Elizabeth was the daughter of Frederick Payne and Caroline Weaver.

The next generation, the children of George and Sarah Payne.

The eldest son of George and Sarah Ann Payne was Bertram Leopold Paynewho was baptised in Litton on 24/11/1878 . George was described as a Labourer at the time. Bertram was 12 when he was involved in an accident. It is believed he was on a pony and trap which overturned on Chew Hill. Bertram suffered brain damage and was sent to a mental institution which were more like prisons than hospitals in those days. He survived for a further two years but died at the age of 14 which was probably a relief to all concerned. Bertram was buried in Chewton Mendip on 6/1/1894.

Florie Payne was the daughter of George and Sarah Ann Payne. She married Tom Sperring and they had two daughters. She was buried in Chewton Mendip on 14/12/1940. Tom died in 1953.

This picture shows Fred Payne and his family after he returned from WWI. He married May Quick and they had four daughters & two sons, Grace, Isobel, Kathleen, Ralph, Mary & Trevor. He was a butcher as was his father before him. This branch of the Payne family were also farmers in Greendown where they ran their first butcher’s shop but Fred ran his butcher shop from a cottage in Ford on the Litton/Chewton Mendip parish boundary. He is the Fred shown in the picture above.

This is Eve Payne, she was the sister of Ethel May Payne who married Edgar Speed. She married Arthur Chard and they had one son who when Iris Bartlett last heard of him he was living in Southport.This picture has a wider interest in a number of ways. Firstly is shows the fashion of the time and secondly it shows how formal photography was at the time. A gap between the painted backcloth and the floor is clearly visible.

Ethel May Payne appears in articles about the family, education and farming.

Ernie Payne  was the father of Iris & Daphne. The family had to leave the Butchers shop in the Folly when George Died. They moved to Quarrs Farm he was still only 14. Ernie started farming, having left school, with his mother and un-married sisters at 14 years of age.Ernie then moved to (old) Ford Farm  with his mother and sisters when he was 19. The farms was previously known as Ford Farm Chewton Mendip and Ford Farm Litton but the names have been changed to reduce the confusion

The 1901 census has the following details for George Payne and his family.

Person	Age	Occupation	Origin
George Payne	43	Butcher	Chewton Mendip
Sarah Ann Payne	45		Chewton Mendip
Florie Payne	19		Chewton Mendip
Fred Payne	14	Juvenile	Chewton Mendip
Ethel Payne	10	Juvenile	Chewton Mendip
Evie Payne	8	Juvenile	Chewton Mendip
Ernie	5	Juvenile	Chewton Mendip
Freda (Winifred)	3	Juvenile	Chewton Mendip

Maurice Payne, was the son of William and Rosina Elizabeth Payne was baptised in Litton on 16/8/1896.William was described as a carpenter and wheelwright of Ford, Litton. They had at least eight children. Maurice later ran a garage in Chewton Mendip. His brother, Seward, worked for Mendip Motors

Another victim of a vehicle accident was Eliza Payne, the daughter of Eli and Esther Payne was baptised in Litton. Eli was described as a labourer. She may have been killed by a wagon and was buried in Litton on 24/12/1875 aged 8.