HISTORY

From medieval times a small part of the City of London was paved, financed by a tax called pavage.

The Paviors are the sixth oldest Livery Company:

Weavers – 1155
Bakers – 1155
Woolmen – 1180
Cordwainers – 1272
Fishmongers – 1272
Paviors – 1276

In 1316, six paviors were appointed by the City of London from which they gradually developed into a fellowship.

Pigs were as common as dogs on the streets of the City of London in the fourteenth century and when, as they did frequently, they strayed from their owners’ plots, they fed on household scraps lying in the street. The matter required attention and a writ was issued by Edward II to the Mayor and Sheriffs on 4 March 1315 enjoining them to repair the pavements, clean them and free them from vagrant pigs. This task fell on the Paviors Company. The writ laid down a course of action:

‘No swine to be found about the streets or about the lanes of the City, or in the suburbs, or in the fosses of the said City, from this time forward. And if swine shall be found in the places aforesaid, they may be killed by those by whom they shall be found. And those who kill them shall have them freely and clearly without any challenge thereof; or else the swine shall be bought back by him who owns it at the price of four pence.’

There had to be an exception. The Hospital of St Anthony in Threadneedle Street had its own herd of swine, distinguished by the bells they wore round their necks, and these were allowed to continue to wander the streets. The privilege was open to abuse and there is little doubt that pigs belonging to others also acquired bells. These pigs soon learned where to find food and their persistent clamour for scraps gave rise to the phrase ‘to whine like a Tantony pig’. The Hospital of St Anthony also supported a school, whose pupils were promptly described as ‘pigs’ by their rivals at St Paul’s, with ensuing fights ‘troubling the streets and passengers’.

In 1479, the Paviors received a Code of Ordinances from the City of London Corporation giving them authority for the first time over the “craft of paving”. The Paviors remained a modest Company without a hall of its own or livery and its funds were held by a warden. Membership was small, around 20 at the end of the sixteenth century, and its meetings were held in various taverns.

One peculiarity was that some paviors were members of the Goldsmiths Company and there were instances of disputes being referred to the Court of Aldermen. Figures given in 1672 showed the Paviors having 56 members and 35 Goldsmiths who were also on the books of the Paviors. One enlightened practice recorded in the sixteenth century was that widows were allowed to carry on the business of their late husbands and become full members of the Company.

In 1673 the Paviors were granted a Royal charter by King Charles II but it was rejected by the Court of Aldermen, and rejected again in 1679.

Records indicated increased evidence of the Paviors exercising control over non-members, but this control eventually faded. A report in 1833 said that the compulsion to belong to the Company had long gone, and payments and fines had declined. From the beginning of the Victorian era, “the decadence of the Company gradually developed” and “for over forty years a period of apathy prevailed”. No meeting of the Company was held, and no new members were admitted. Eventually, a special meeting was held in 1889 to revive the Company. This started with the award of prizes for essays on paving.

The Company applied for a Livery which was initially rejected by the Court of Aldermen but was finally granted in 1900.