Richard was probably related to the John Payn who had lived in St. Peter’s parish, Shaftesbury, in the 1350s.Shaftesbury Recs. ed. Mayo, 75 (D4, 5, 7). He was unique among the parliamentary burgesses of Shaftesbury of this period in holding office as King’s bailiff in the town, but since his appointment preceded his election to Parliament by some 14 years it can hardly have influenced his return to a major extent. He occasionally appeared as a witness to conveyances of property in Shaftesbury between 1370 and 1397, and was recorded as owner of a messuage next to ‘Trouthall’ in 1404.Egerton 3135, ff. 44v, 59, 77v, 108. His descendants continued to live in Shaftesbury: CCR, 1454-61, p. 64; Hutchins, iii. 46.
