The Golden Lion is located in High Street, where it has stood since around the fifteenth century.
According to Havering Libraries, the earliest mention of the pub and hotel dates back to February 1482 when it was known as The Lion.
The pub was referenced in the will of Roger Reede, where it was described as “perhaps Romford’s best building” west of Market Place.
A listing record in the archives of the library suggests that its features range in age from the seventeenth century onwards.
Like many pubs nowadays, The Golden Lion had a history plagued by the threat of demolition.
In 1956, the watering hole was included in a compulsory purchase order of a number of properties in High Street.
The intention was to knock down the existing buildings to allow for the road to be widened.
News of its potential loss was covered by the Romford Recorder in January 1966, with discussions swirling about the creation of a new pub in High Street as part of a shop and office development.
It was reported that negotiations were underway for the site to be taken over by Woolworths to be developed.
However, the pub narrowly escaped demolition in light of plans for the town’s ring road.
The Golden Lion was later grade listed in 1979.
READ MORE: Harold Hill pub WILL be bulldozed – and a replacement is not guaranteed
It is now part of the Greene King portfolio.
The chain claims that the pub has been known for its haunted nature, with 23 reported ghost sightings.
One ghost is said to belong to the White Lady, a woman who held her wedding reception at the pub and was murdered in Harold Hill in the 1980s.