The Inn is a coaching Inn dating back to the 16th Century. It was previously known as The Green Dragon and even prior to that The Dragon Inn. The inn originally housed its own brewery on the site where the restaurant is now situated.

The adjacent cottage, Dragon Cottage was once at least two, maybe three, dwellings used by the brewery workers. In the last century it was much used as a coach house mainly for local traffic; the court yard still houses the old mounting block used to assist horse riders at that time.

During the 2nd World War the Wiltshire Yeomanry dedicated one of their tanks to the inn, with The Green Dragon inscribed on one side and Barford St Martin on the other.

Barford St. Martin's recorded history pre-dates the Norman Conquest. Extending along the River Nadder, the village nestles under the lea of Grovely Wood. Bordered by Burcombe to the east and Baverstock to the west, the parish's northern limits follow Grim's Ditch and the Roman road to Old Sarum and Winchester; its southern frontier runs along the drove road from Shaftesbury to Harewarren. The Bronze Age settlement at Hamshill Ditches on the southern slope of Barford Down falls within the parish boundary.

Barford St. Martin makes an ideal base to tour the legendary area of King Alfred's Wessex from. Within easy driving distance are innumerable attractions of which a small number are detailed below

Wessex is a beautiful area that is made up from several counties and used to be a kingdom. The New Forest is within a 20-minute drive and is a beautiful national park and is a designated area of outstanding natural beauty as is most of Wiltshire and the surrounding area. Barford St. Martin is about six miles from Salisbury. Salisbury has a main line railway station that takes 1.5 hours to get to London and to drive it takes about 2-2.5 hours. Cornwall is about 2-2.5 hours further on down so, Barford makes an ideal base.