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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

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 Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

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 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 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 counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

town of

Beverley Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, 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 ...

, where the pavage was associated with the cult of St John of Beverley, and was ultimately made permanent. Another early one was for

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

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