Accepted for publication in West Middlesex Family History Society Journal. Sept 1995, Vol. 13 No 3.

Earlier this year, I entered a plea for assistance in the pages of the West Middlesex Family History Society Journal for any information on Malcolm Cottages. The address had been quoted in a birth and a death certificate from the mid 1800's. It appeared neither in the census street indexes nor in any A to Z or Gazetteer which I consulted. I was immensely grateful for the response to this item. Several snippets of information were supplied on the general area and a wealth of information uncovered on my behalf about Fisherman Place, an address which was also mentioned by me in the original item. However, nobody could positively identify Malcolm Cottages. One respondent suggested that they may be cottages owned by somebody called Malcolm, whilst another suggested that the Rate Books held in Chiswick Library might help with the problem.

Both of these last two suggestions proved to be correct. The earliest rate book in Chiswick Library is for 1838, and one of the first entries in the book relates to Fisherman's Place where a Thomas MALCOLM owned two tenements. Unfortunately, the occupiers of these tenements were not listed. The rate books continue, however, into this century and it is possible to trace the movements in ownership (and value) of these properties on a year by year basis. An Extract from the 1840 Poor Rate Book is presented below:

Occupier	Owner	Description	Estimated Rental
Thomas MALCOLM	Thos MALCOLM	Two Tenements	£ 4
William HOBBS	Wm HOBBS	Six Tenements, Wharf & Shed	)
"	"	House	)£ 30
"	"	House	)
T H ADAMSON	Mr HOBBS	Shed	£ 3
J W SMITH	J SMITH	Six Tenements	£ 12

The appearance of Mr HOBBS and his disappearance as an owner between 1841 and 1860 is of particular significance, because it helps to date an otherwise undated plan of Fisherman's Place held at Chiswick Library. The plan clearly shows the layout of the cottages in relation to each other as well as to the surrounding roads, it also lists their owners at the time. No 1 Malcolm Cottages, the address given in the general registers is clearly marked between the parish school and a property owned by Mr HOBBS.

Such entries continued until the early 1880s after which the true occupiers of the cottages began to be listed, for example in 1888 :

Occupier	Owner	Description	Estimated Rental
RANDELL Wm	Thornycroft & Co	Cottages	£ 12
RAMSDEN Thos	"	"	£ 12
JENNINGS Geo	W BRITAIN	Tenement	£ 7
HOPE James	BRITAIN	Tenement	£ 7
CHESTERMAN A	CHESTERMAN Miss	"	£ 10
CHAMBERLAIN Chas	CHESTERMAN Mrs	"	£ 7
ODELL Thos	"	"	£ 7
WILLIS Thos	"	"	£ 7
CARROL Mrs Mary A	"	"	£ 7
KENDRICK Elias	"	"	£ 12
J W WRIGHT		Workshop	£ 10

From 1900, not only the occupiers names, but the house numbers are listed, so from 1900 - 1904 we find:

No	1900	1902	1903	1904
1				RUDDER Nathan Wm
2				HOOPER Geo
3	MARLOW Anthony	PUNTER W M	SPACKMAN Geo	SHACKMAN Geo
4	RAMSDEN Hayward	RAMSDEN Hayward	FARLEY Rbt	FARLEY Rbt
6	JENNINGS Geo	W JENNINGS Geo W	JENNINGS Geo W	JENNINGS Geo W
7	MEEN Wm	MEEN Wm	MEEN Wm	MEEN Wm
8	DOUGLAS Chas	DOUGLAS Chas	DOUGLAS Chas	DOUGLAS Chas
9	ODELL Thos	ODELL Thos	ODELL Thos	ODELL Thos
10	KENRICK Elizth	LEADBEATER Wm H	GAYTON Charles	GAYTON Charles
11	CHESTERMAN Alice	CHESTERMAN Alice
12	WILLIS Eliza	RANDALL Wm	SHENGOLD Albert	SHERGOLD Robt Chas
13	ROACH Wm	ROACH Wm	ROACH Wm	ROACH Wm

Unfortunately the indexers of the Rate Books gave up at 1900. Fisherman's Place continued to be found on Page 2 until 1904 when some local reorganisation obviously happened as I was unable to find further references to the location. Whatever this change was, it is also reflected in the Kelly's Directories for the period. Up until the early 1900s George JENNINGS appears at 6 Fisherman's Place, after 1904 he is listed at 6 Church Walk. Similarly George SPACKMAN is listed at 3 Fisherman's Place, then at 3 Church Walk.

The cottages persisted until at least 1930, again listed under their old name as Fisherman's Place, with two of their earlier inhabitants still resident, albeit with differently spelt names (ORDELL Thos and ROCHE William).. The cottages may have existed right up to 1948 but no trace of them exists on a map produced in 1966 although a single large property is shown on the site.

There are two references to Fisherman's Place in Chiswick by Warwick Draper, 236pp, 1923 (2nd edition reprinted 1990), the first extending the possible age of the cottages quite considerably.

An Elizabethan sixpence has been found under the 'Burlington Arms.' Between the Church and the river edge, where are now still the cottages of Fisherman's Row (Formerly Sluts' Hole) and Gwlynn's Works, there were the Parish House and the little homes which are to be seen in Chatelains print of 1750, and the engravings of about 1800 - some almost of Tudor date.

It would be nice to believe that the tenant mentioned in the second could have been my Great-Great Grandmother but from the wording it seems likely to be referring to Miss CHESTERMAN and to one of the dwellers of the properties owned by Mrs CHESTERMAN, Nos. 8-10 & 12-13.

A friend tells me of a kindly dweller of Fisherman's Row of about 1870 who, always kind to humble tenants, would gossip 'in their delightful old kitchen over a cup of tea until interrupted by the tap of a neighbour for the teapot when they had finished with it'.

There are several photographs and engravings of Fisherman's Place. With the gloss of nostalgia, they look like cosy little dwellings. Their true condition can be guessed from a second book Life and Work on Old Chiswick by Humphrey Arthure, 1982.

Fisherman's Place is a modern house which, with its garden has replaced the old cottages in Fisherman's Row or Sluts Hole as it used to be called. Fisherman and their families lived in these tumbledown timber cottages in the 19th century in dire poverty, but early this century their condition was much improved. A painting by Katherine Parsons in 1905 shows it as a pretty place.

With the mists rolling off the Thames on a cold dank autumn day and a lack of modern heating and sanitation, it is easy to see why Great-Great Grandmother died of symptoms similar to Cholera and Great Grandmother of Consumption at the age of 41.

Until very recently, the site was a relatively undisturbed and attractive area on the bank of the Thames. Now it has attracted the developer's interest and is an active building site.