There were three old inns in Southend Village, two of which have modern successors.

In 1914 the tram line was extended south from Catford to Southend, where it terminated. The two large pubs, the Tigers Head and the Green Man, and the attractive mill pond on the Ravensbourne made it a popular destination for day trips.

The arrival of the trams was also a vital catalyst for the building of the Bellingham Estate by the London County Council.

The Tiger's Head was founded, as the George, early in the 18th century.

Its position next to the Lower Mill must have given it most of the trade from the cutlers employed there in its early days.

The name changed to the Tiger's Head in the 1740s.

The pub was rebuilt in 1901-1902, destroyed by a flying bomb in 1944, and rebuilt in its present form in 1958.