Page 1 of 1

Posted: Mon 14 Nov, 2011 9:53 pm
by Leodian
The photo (taken today, Nov 14 2011) shows the street sign at the start of the Green Dragon Yard that is next to The Northern Monkey on The Headrow.The name of the yard intrigued me so I've looked at some maps in the Old Maps UK (OMUK) website and photos in the Leodis website. The 1850 1:1056 OMUK shows there was an 'Old Green Dragon Inn' (on what was then Guildford Street but is The Headrow today) with a narrow Green Dragon Yard running at the side of the inn and for a short way further. The 1891 1:500 OMUK marks 'Green Dragon Hotel (P.H.)' with a now shorter Green Dragon Yard still named.The 1908 1:2500 OMUK still names Guildford Street but what was probably still the Green Dragon Hotel is only marked as a P.H. and the yard is not named. Likewise for the 1921 1:2500 OMUK. The 1933 1:2500 OMUK now uses The Headrow for what was Guildford Street. The information I've seen did not however say why the Green Dragon is so named. From information in Leodis is was called the Green Dragon from at at least 1809. The Green Dragon Yard will therefore be named after that of the old inn (unless the yard was there before the inn).    

Posted: Mon 14 Nov, 2011 9:57 pm
by Leodian
This a photo (taken today, Nov 14 2011) showing a view from the more open area of the Green Dragon Yard looking towards The Headrow. The design of the yard however makes it very hard to get a good shot of the narrow part of the yard. The more open area of the yard has modern buildings in it.

Posted: Mon 14 Nov, 2011 10:04 pm
by Leodian
If the following image identity is copied and pasted into the Image ID section (under Advanced Search) in the Leodis website it will bring up an undated old drawing of the Green Dragon Inn that also shows part of the yard. 2002109_38935488 The caption to the drawing is "Undated, At the junction with Green Dragon Yard and the Headrow, up until 1920, public house on this site was called the Old Green Dragon. Found in directories back to 1809 and described as 'an old grey public house'. The present building renamed the Guildford in 1920 dates from the early 1900s."

Posted: Tue 15 Nov, 2011 9:17 pm
by Steve Jones
Green Dragon was quite a common pub name,there was one in Wakefield (now Henry Boons) on Westgate.It derives from the George and the Dragon legend.Said dragon supposedly green as opposed to the red welsh one or white saxon.

Posted: Tue 15 Nov, 2011 9:36 pm
by Leodian
Thanks for that info Steve.