Taken from The Memorials of the Hamlet of Knightsbridge, by Henry George Davis, Edited by Charles Davis.

Nearly opposite the western end of Rutland Gate, built in the roadway, stood an old inn, of very bad character at one time, called the “Halfway House.” An unusual array of stabling, troughs, pig-styes, &c., in a very unsightly manner, were built along the causeway; and over the door were several proofs of the faith in the old superstition that horse-shoes were a preventive to the visits of evil spirits. In one sense the charm was not efficacious, the house, from its lonely situation, being a resort for the highwayman and footpad. A curious notice of a trial is given in “Knight’s London,” where the thief-taker stated that if not met about this spot, they should not have caught the robber at all: a proof of their frequency, indeed! Jerry Abershaw p. 180is said to have been a visitor here, and when the house was pulled down a secret staircase from a small chamber in the western part of the house was found built in the wall, to lead gradually down into the stables. Many a villain, doubtless, thus escaped when the officers of justice were close upon him.