THE borough of Enfield has a number of historic public houses, with several dating from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Examples of the traditional "English pub" can be found all over Enfield some of the oldest being the George in Enfield Town, the Fox in Palmers Green and the Green Dragon, now called Jim Thompsons, in Winchmore Hill.

The Green Dragon has a long and varied history, which is believed to have started in 1726 with James Hound as the landlord.

The site on which it then stood was at the corner of Bush Hill and Dog Kennel Lane, a name which is thought to have come from the fact that there were a number of kennels at the inn. The road was later renamed Green Dragon Lane, as it is still known.

In 1780, a highwayman is thought to have been arrested at the bar of the Green Dragon and he was hanged on a gallows built right outside the front door, as it was a custom of the time to hang people close to where they were arrested.

Unfortunately for the pub owners it was also the custom to leave the person hanging there, fully clothed, for months.

In about 1790, landlord James Halliday, having tried to stop the gallows being used, or get them moved away, decided to relocate the pub to its current position at the junction of Vicars Moor Lane and Green Lanes.

The spectacular new inn was built in the Georgian style with a pillared portico, and was shaded on both sides by sets of trees.

By now it was a Truman, Hanbury and Buxton house. the portico in front of the inn had another use, for it was written that the genteel ladies of Winchmore Hill thought it indelicate to expose their ankles whilst mounting the top boxes of the stagecoach. So as a concession to their feelings the landlord used to allow them access through his house to the top of the portico where they could then step right onto the coach.

The transformation of the building into what we see today began with some drastic changes to the layout of the pub in 1935.

However, the final changes to the building have been made since August 1999, when it was built by the J Thompson organisation. The name has now been changed to Jim Thompson's and the colour scheme has been radically altered. The upstairs function room has now been replaced with an oriental restaurant although many of its finer features are still intact.

To find out more about the history of the borough's pubs consult A Photographic History of Enfield Pubs Parts I and II by Gary Boudier.