Pavage was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

toll for the maintenance or improvement of a road or street in medieval

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The king by letters patent granted the right to collect it to an individual, or the corporation of a town, or to the "bailiffs and good men" of a neighbouring village. Pavage grants can be divided into two classes: *Urban grants to enable the streets of a town (or its market place) to be paved. These represent the majority of grants. *Rural grants to enable a particular road to be repaired. These grants were mostly made in the 14th century, and largely for the great roads radiating from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, which were presumably those carrying the heaviest traffic. The first grant was in 1249 for the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

town of

Beverley Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull. The town is known fo ...

, where the pavage was associated with the cult of St John of Beverley, and was ultimately made permanent. Another early one was for Shrewsbury in 1266 for paving the new market place, removed from the churchyard of St Alkmund and St Juliana.

Related tolls

Other medieval tolls granted in the same way were

murage Murage was a medieval toll for the building or repair of town walls in England, Wales and Ireland. Origin The term ''murage'', while having this specific meaning, could also refer to other aid for walls or to the walls themselves. It is generally ...

(to build town walls) and

pontage Pontage was a term for a toll levied for the building or repair of bridges dating to the medieval era in England, Wales and Ireland. Pontage was similar in nature to murage (a toll for the building of town walls) and pavage (a toll for pavin ...

(to build or repair a bridge).

References

* * {{Taxation in medieval England Toll (fee) Roads in the United Kingdom Taxation in medieval England Toll roads in the United Kingdom