Ralph Payne, 1st Baron Lavington
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The Right Honourable The Lord Lavington KB PC |
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| Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Leeward Islands | |
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In office 1799–1807 |
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| Member of Parliament (MP) for | |
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In office 1795–1799 |
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| Member of Parliament (MP) for Plympton, Devon | |
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In office 1780–1784 |
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| Clerk of the Board of the Green Cloth | |
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In office 1777–1782 |
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| Member of Parliament (MP) for Camelford, Cornwall | |
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In office 1776–1780 |
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| Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Leeward Islands | |
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In office 1771–1775 |
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| Member of Parliament (MP) for Shaftesbury, Dorset | |
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In office 1768–1771 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
19 March 1739 St George, Basseterre, St Kitts |
| Died | 3 August 1807 (aged 68) Antigua |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Lambertine de Kolbel, later Lady Lavington (1767—1807) |
| Occupation | Politician and Businessman |
Ralph Payne redirects here. For those of a similar name, see
Ralph Payne, 1st Baron Lavington KB PC (19 March 1739 – 3 August 1807) was a British politician and Governor of the Leeward Islands.
Payne was born in St George, Basseterre on the island of St Kitts in 1739 to Ralph Payne (died 1763)—the Chief Justice of St Kitts—and his wife, Alice. His family was wealthy and originally came from Lavington in Wiltshire, hence Payne's future peerage was as Baron Lavington. He was educated in England at Christ's Hospital school in West Sussex. Following the completion of his time at Christ's, Payne returned to St Kitts where he was "elected a member of the house of assembly and unanimously voted speaker."
By 1762, Payne had returned to England as part of his grand tour of Europe as was convention for young men in the eighteenth century. Here he became a representative for absentee landowners in Britain of plantations in the West Indies. He married at London in 1767.
Following his marriage, Payne embarked fully on his political career and became a Member of Parliament for the borough of Shaftesbury; holding this seat from 1768 to 1771. In order to further himself in politics, he always voted according to the government of the time. He thus made many more useful connections which were particularly beneficial to him, including his relationship with the Earl of Mansfield. Horace Walpole observed the verbose style with which Payne made his political speeches, maintaining that such a style could be attributed to amateur dramatic performances in Payne's youth. Nevertheless, Payne became a prominent figure in London society and held a great number of social gatherings which were very popular in the capital.
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