The toponymy of Vauxhall is generally accepted to have originated in the late 13th century, from the name of Falkes de Breauté, the head of King John's mercenaries, who owned a large house in the area, which was referred to as Faulke's Hall, later Foxhall, and eventually Vauxhall. Samuel Pepys mentions "Fox Hall" in his diary on 23 June 1665: "...I took boat and to Fox Hall, where we spent two or three hours talking of several matters very soberly and contentfully to me, which, with the ayre and pleasure of the garden, was a great refreshment to me, and, ‘methinks, that which we ought to joy ourselves in." The area only became generally known by the name Vauxhall when the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens opened as a public attraction and movement across the Thames was facilitated by the opening of Westminster Bridge in the 1740s.