Thieves had stolen all the copper pipes and brass fittings, and squatters had moved in. Jimmy said: “We want to turn it back into the traditional pub it once was.
“It is a shame it was never rejuvenated. Once we cleaned it all down, it did not look too bad – it just needed a lick of varnish and a good scrubbing.”
Barbara added: “Everyone said what a brilliant pub it was in the day. We just hope we can keep it as good as it was.
“When I first walked in, it was grotty – I would not touch anything. We cleared out about 30 bags full of rubbish someone had left behind.
“But the more we get done, the more it feels like home.”
Barbara said the couple were thrilled to be taking on a pub with so much history.
She added: “Derek Hatton used to have meetings here. Someone stopped us in the street and said it was the 25th anniversary of something and could they book a party?” Jimmy replied: ‘If you can get Thatcher down, you can.’”
But Mr Ainscough, who still owns the Vernon Arms, thinks the Militant connection is nothing to be proud of.
He bought the pub about a decade ago and said he ran it successfully until pulling the plug.
The building will remain on the market despite the Monaghans moving in.
Mr Ainscough, who owns the Racquet Club, in Chapel Street, as well as a handful of country pubs, said: “It has an horrific history. The fact Derek Hatton used the back room is nothing to be proud of.
“The fact the Vernon was his so-called ‘council chamber’ summed up how he was running the city. I think it is outrageous. But I hope Jimmy does really well with it.
“He deserves to – he and his team have done a good job doing it up.”
The Monaghans are applying for a longer licence, to open from 11am to 1am, Sunday to Thursday, and until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
They will start off serving six ales, including three from the Sandshaw Brewery near Wrexham.
Ex-cabbie Jimmy, 46, and Barbara, 48, have run city pubs for more than a decade, with the help of some of their four children.
They started out at the Brunswick – now the James Munro – in Tithebarn Street, in 1998, and moved to Dale Street’s Excelsior in 2000.
