The present spelling of Pailton first appeared on a map in 1789. The original name is Saxon meaning the homestead or enclosure surrounding a farm occupied by an Anglo-Saxon, called Paelli or Paegel. The earliest recorded reference to the village was in the 13th century although there is good evidence of 11th century rivalry between the Danes at Kirby and the Saxons at Pailton. The founding of the monastery at Monks Kirby in 1077 included the acquisition of an open field now known as Pailton Pastures. Ownership of the land changed over several centuries and Pailton became a Manor in 1538, the year the monastery was suppressed. In 1554 an Act of Parliament changed the use of Pailton Pastures from arable land to sheep pasture. Later, Henry VIII gave the Rectory and Patronage of Monks Kirby to the newly created Trinity College, Cambridge. This included Pailton Pastures and the tithes from the rest of Pailton, three open fields.
Before the first turnpike road was built in 1754 there were no means of all weather communication by wheeled vehicles to and from the village. This road ran from Market Harborough to Coventry via Lutterworth and so began a long period of commercial development. New buildings altered the layout of the village along the line of the present Lutterworth and Coventry Roads. To serve the new traffic blacksmith and wheelwright businesses developed and the White Lion and Plough Inns were built for travellers. Later, at least two regular long-distance coaches passed through Pailton.
The next significant transport change came in 1812 with the construction of another turnpike road from the Bridge at Rugby to Hinckley, with toll gates at Newbold on Avon and Pailton (on the Rugby Road immediately north of Easenhall Lane). After many changes of owner, the turnpikes were finally taken over by the new Warwickshire County Council in 1889.
Between these two turnpike construction dates, another development came with the introduction of the Enclosure Act in 1761, authorising the enclosure of three of the open fields of Pailton and the ensuing award laid down the pattern of fields allotted to each person together with all public and private rights of way. Over the next century the subject of Enclosure and Tithes was to cause much dissension, as in other parts of the country. Various disputes occurred between the smaller land occupiers and both Trinity College and later the Earl of Denbigh. The location of many Pailton farms and consequent housing were often shaped by these disputes.
The opening up of Pailton with the construction of the turnpike roads sparked an expansion of commercial facilities and the village became a thriving community from the 18th century. As well as the wheelwrights and blacksmiths mentioned above, all kinds of other enterprises sprang up - grocers, butchers and bakers, tailors and shoemakers, millers, millwrights and timber merchants, building and metal trades. An obvious offshoot of the roads was transport businesses of both people and goods, starting with horse drawn vehicles and progressing into very successful coach and lorry firms. Hospitality was also high on the list of enterprises and over the years there have been many public houses - the Bell, the Saddlers Arms, the Three Hats, the Fox, the Plough and the White Lion. Now only the White Lion remains.