Antony Payne: Last of the Cornish Giants

A real giant? Yes, and a famous one at that. Antony Payne was born in Stratton, Cornwall in 1610 and was put into service with the Grenville family at Stowe in 1619. It was a difficult life for a boy who quickly grew to be 7' 2" tall, remarkable even today but at that time several heads taller than the average man. This is how an awkward, lonely child grew to be a well-loved man and a Civil War hero. And to be remembered, King Charles II commissioned a life-size portrait of him. Did they use his back for a chalk board at school? Did he eat the wounded enemy soldiers? Did the King really find him dusting the great golden bed? This is his story with plenty of illustrations - facts and legends befitting the Giant of Stratton.