A new era had dawned for drinkers at a Furness country pub which had re-opened for business in 1997 four years after last orders were called.

New owners had taken over the Black Dog Inn, or Broughton Road between Dalton and Ireleth.

New faces behind the bar were Jack Taylor and Julia Walker, who had just opened up the pub following extensive refurbishment.

Jack was no stranger to the licensed trade as he also had the Albert Hotel in Bowness, a popular haunt with Lakeland tourists.

Julia was a trained and experienced chef, who formerly cooked meals for staff at the huge UAP Provincial Insurance company's Riverside Training Centre in Kendal.

This was a new venture for them and they said it was already proving a success.

Julia explained: "We've been really busy and packed out every night since we opened. All we did was put up a notice in the car park saying we were opening at 7 o'clock in the evening and by five past seven people were flocking in."

Two years later in 1999 Dalton's Black Dog Inn had something to bark about after being recognised as serving the best pint in town.

The latest honour came just weeks after the award-winning country pub had been crowned Camra's finest pub in Furness for the second year running.

In her report to Dalton Town Council, ale taster Lesley Roberts complimented licensees Jack Taylor and Julia Walker for their 'wide range' of beers 'kept in good condition'.

In 1996, The Mail reported that former professional footballer Wayne Goldthorpe and Hazel Beeley - who used to be mine hosts at the Hope and Anchor in Ulverston - had taken over the reins at the Black Cock Inn at Broughton.

Former soccer referee Kevin Howarth and his wife Sam, who had run the Black Cock Inn for nearly nine years, were moving up the hill to the High Cross Inn but they and their two partners would remain as owners of the Black Cock.