On 8 April 1633, the municipal government debated the construction of a spring in the Praça do Pelourinho Velho, in order to improve the quantity and quality of water in the city. Sometime in the 17th century, the Senate approved the demolition of the pillory. The municipality later (1690) authorized (by the monarch) to construct homes along the river. On 16 December 1705, D. Luís Baltazar da Silveira solicited authorization to build a home on the site of the old pillory, in which he would pay 50$000 réis annually and donation to the city of 600$000 réis. The King approved the rental on 4 February 1706. On 20 November 1738, the municipal council consulted the King to afix the pillory, with the usual locals debated: the Ribeira, Terreiro do Paço, Remolares, Boavista and Confeitaria. Before the earthquake of 1755, the Largo do Pelourinho was located at the place where the last block of the Rua do Comércio is located, between the streets of Fanqueiros and Madalena. This border was delimited to the south by the Fernandine Wall and gave passage to the landfill of the Ribeira, through the Portas da Ribeira. Flanking this stood the customs house and "house of weights and measures", and the buildings that housed the Senate.
