I want to know the answer to the following question:
What type of pavement techniques had already been tried by a competitor of Claridge?
All the background I'm provided with is that "Then on 25 November 1837, Richard Tappin Claridge patented the use of Seyssel asphalt (patent #7849), for use in asphalte pavement, having seen it employed in France and Belgium when visiting with Frederick Walter Simms, who worked with him on the introduction of asphalt to Britain.". Is that enough to answer the question?
Answer: no