Does anyone know why Green Dragon Lane is so called? A map from 1850 shows that it then extended roughly north west from its current junction with the High Street at the corner of the Museum of Water and Steam and then (under?) the railway to a point just south of what is now the Magnet kitchen showroom on Lionel Road South. The westward extension of Green Dragon Lane to its current junction with Ealing Road appears to have taken place during the 1890s when it was sandwiched between the railway lane to the north and the Grand Junction (Kew) Water Works to the south. In 1845 Thomas Faulkner,in his "History & Antiquities of Brentford, Ealing & Chiswick“ wrote that "Near Green Dragon Lane north of the High Street, is the ground called the Dead Mans’ Graves; tradition declares that it is so called from having been the burial ground for the bodies of those who died of the plague in the reign of Charles the Second”. Another source says that quack physicians at the time of the plaque in 1665 would hang a sign outside their houses showing a green dragon, a black boy, a blazing star or a scarab to advertise that they would sell a concoction to ward off the plague. Green Dragon was a popular name for pubs but there is no record of such a hostelry in the area. It is also the name for a tincture of cannabis but I doubt that that is the explanation. Any knowledge or thoughts (humourous and otherwise) would be most welcome.

Entire Thread

Topic	Date Posted	Posted By
Green Dragon Lane	26/02/16 10:14:00	Jim Storrar
Re:Green Dragon Lane	27/02/16 14:23:00	John McConnell
Re:Green Dragon Lane	28/02/16 20:56:00	Anne England
Re:Green Dragon Lane	29/02/16 18:07:00	Jim Storrar
Re:Re:Green Dragon Lane	29/02/16 18:20:00	Anne England
Re:Re:Re:Green Dragon Lane	03/03/16 15:00:00	Jim Storrar
Re:Re:Re:Re:Green Dragon Lane	04/03/16 10:35:00	Lorne Gifford
Re:Green Dragon Lane	06/03/16 19:35:00	David Squire

Forum Home