5 
the Earl of Warwick for its lord, and lodged her in the house of Thomas Payne, 
a trusty supporter of the House of Lancaster. : 
Through the kindness of the Rev. E. R. Dowdeswell we are enabled to sup- 
ply the following curious particulars relating to 
PAYNE'S PLACE, BUSHLEY. 
The fine old half-timbered house now occupied by Mr. W. Stokes, was 
known in the old times by the name of ‘‘ Payne’s Place,” and is so described in 
old deeds. It was built after the fashion of the houses used by the small gentry 
of the day (about 1405). The framing was of solid oak, the spaces between the 
timbers being filled with ‘‘ wattle and daub,” and whitewashed. The chief feature 
in the house was the hall. That at Payne’s Place was 20 feet square; it was open 
to the roof, and the rafters were supported by a very handsome arch of oak, which 
may still be seen in perfect preservation in one of the bedrooms. In this great 
hall the household dined at one great table. The fire burnt in the midst of the 
hall, and the smoke found its way up into the old rafters of the roof, there being 
no chimney to conduct it, as now, into the outer air. These halls, large, cold, and 
comfortless, were usually screened from the main door by a panelled oak parti- 
tion, which ran across the room about 10 feet high. A portion of such a screen 
was found at Payne’s Place, where it seems to have been more than usually 
necessary, for there were two doors in this hall exactly opposite to each other, and 
a right of way through this passage from Bushley to Tewkesbury had existed 
from very early times, which right was claimed and acknowledged within the 
memory of some now living. Tf the house was built as we may safely conjecture, 
about the year 1450, the bedroom floor which hides the interior of the handsome 
roof from ordinary visitors, was probably inserted in the hall about 100 years later. 
The eastern wing was pulled down early in this century, and replaced by ordinary 
and ugly brickwork. The overhanging upper storey in the remaining wing, and 
the beautiful barge boards in the gable are still extant in good condition. 
Such then was the house at Bonnett’s End when first we hear of it. It was 
then inhabited by a man of substance, named Thomas Payne, who had probably 
built it. We do not know much of good Master Payne, or where he came from. 
One William Payne, of Rodborough, in the County of Gloucester, married Mar- 
gery Spelman, of Spelman’s Court, in that parish, in the year 1461, and through 
his wife inherited the house and property there, calling the house after his own 
name, Payne’s Court. Our Mr. Thomas Payne, of Bushley, who called his house 
at Bonnett’s End Payne’s Place, was probably a connection of the family of the 
Payne’s, of Rodborough, and like them seems to have been a clothier by trade. 
He was a faithful retainer of the great Earl of Warwick, who was Lord of the 
Manor of Bushley. Ina fine piece of oak carving, which was originally in the 
house at Payne’s Place, but now figures in the cottage of A. Cole, at Churchend, 
may still be seen the “Bear and Ragged Staff,” which was the crest and cogni- 
zance of that noble house. 
While Warwick made and unmade kings of England, good Master Payne 
lived quietly in Bushley, but at last, if he would not go to the wars, the wars 
