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190
goe to Mr Elridge Clerk of the Vestry of St. Martin's in the
Feilds in order to treat with some of the Gents of the Vestry
belonging to the said Parish relating to the Neathouses being
taken into this Parish of St. Margtt Westmr & to Offer them
in Leiw thereof the Hamlett of Knightsbridge within this
Parish.
Sheds for "cattle of the ox kind" were in existence in
various parts on the outskirts of London at this time, and
were known locally by the appellation of "Neat houses;"
but it is not easy, at first sight, to fix the exact position of
these houses in St. Martin's parish. From the description
given by Mr Walcott (p. 338), who quotes Stow as his
authority, the Neat houses in this outlying quarter of
Westminster, consisted of " a parcel of houses mostly seated
on the banks of the Thames and inhabited by gardeners."
This reference being given in connection with the
notice of Millbank Street and the vicinity, implies that
the houses and surrounding gardens were in the parish
of St. Margaret. It is obvious, however, from the entry
above quoted, that " the parcel of houses " were beyond the
limits of the ancient parish. To solve the problem it must
be borne in mind that the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields,
originally taken from St. Margaret's parish, extended along
the line now known as the King's Scholars' Pond Sewer, to
the river side, from a point just to the west of the present
Vauxhall Bridge to the junction with Chelsea, and passed
northwards again along the line of the Westbourne River,
now the Ranelagh Sewer, until the area was assigned to
the parish of St. George, Hanover Square upon its foundation
in 1725. A quotation by Peter Cuningham from the
accounts of the Overseers of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, affords
some confirmation of this :—
The xiijth daie of Maie 1621 To the iiij bearers for bringing
the drownd woman from the Thames near the Neate
House ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iiijrf.
Hatton, in his New View of London, 1708, says "the Parish
of St. Martin extended to the Thames near Chelsea." Mr.
T. C. Noble points out that Strype, p. 78-80, quoting the