Payne was born in
Abingdon, and was educated at
John Roysse's
Free School in Abingdon, (now
Abingdon School). He matriculated at
Christ Church, Oxford in 1611, and graduated B.A. in 1614. He was a contemporary as student of
William Backhouse, who later showed him friendship at the end of the
First English Civil War. In 1624 he became the second Fellow of
Pembroke College. He put himself forward as candidate for
Gresham Professor of Astronomy in 1626. In 1630 Payne entered the Cavendish orbit with his nomination as rector of
Tormarton by the Earl of Newcastle. A mathematical correspondence with
Charles Cavendish led him out of academia. He was taken on as chaplain, by April 1632, at
Welbeck Abbey, where he assumed multiple roles in the household. This period of his life, from which his notability as an intellectual figure arises, was cut short in 1638. At that point Newcastle took on responsibility for the upbringing of the
Prince of Wales. Payne then returned to Oxford, as a canon of Christ Church from 1638 to 1648. The
Parliamentary visitation of Oxford in 1648 saw Payne deprived of his college position. He ended his life with family, in Abingdon. ==Works==