Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

Registered UK Charity (No. 1154342)

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 167,710 pages of information and 247,104 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

David Payne

From Graces Guide

c.1818 Born in Wetherby

1841 David Payne 20, joiner, lived in Wetherby with Ann Payne 20, John Payne 4 Mo[1]

1849 Payne was taken on by an Otley man, William Dawson, in a little back-street joiner’s shop which later became William Dawson and Sons

1851 David Pain (sic) 33, paper cutting machine maker journeyman, lived in Otley with Ann Pain 30, John Pain 10, Ann Pain 8, Ruth Pain 6, Martha Pain 4, David Pain 2, Fredrick Pain 2 Mo[2]

Soon afterwards, they collaborated in building the new Ulverstonian printing machine for its inventor, Mr Stephen Soulby. There seems little doubt that it was during this project that Payne's fertile brain conceived the stop-cylinder principle that, within the next few years was to have such a shattering impact on the printing industry.

Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that the machine may have been invented as early as 1851. The story being that, when the Payne family were moving house in that year, one of the Payne's sons was shown a drawing of what turned out to be the first Wharfedale printing machiner. The drawing was done on the headboard of a bed which his father kept covered for fear that someone might discover his secret.

For a time, Dawson and Payne simply called their revolutionary new machine 'Our Own Kind' and made no effort to take out patents. Inevitably, this led to it being widely copied by other firms both in England and overseas.

1866 Presumably Payne established his own business, Payne and Sons

1871 David Payne 53, printing machine maker, employing 88 men and 8 apprentices, lived in Otley with Ann Payne 50, Frederick Payne 20, Louisa Payne 16, William D Payne 14[3]

1881 David Payne 63, Machinist Employing 150 Operatives, lived in Otley with Annie Payne 60, Selina Harriet Payne 19[4]

1888 Died in Otley

See Also

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Sources of Information

  1. 1841 census
  2. 1851 census
  3. 1871 census
  4. 1881 census