A PUB landlord is celebrating 10 years of being at the helm as the venue looks to kick on after the difficulties of the past two years.

The Junction in Rainford has been transformed over the past 10 years from an ailing run down pub into a venue incorporating a new kitchen facility, roof terrace and a buzzing live music scene.

Landlord Paul Draper took over the venue in 2012, as the keys were handed over to him and his dad Alan.

Paul, who has a degree in sound engineering, was originally going to use the building as a recording studio before a “change of heart” saw him continue it as a pub.

And music has played a big role at the Junction, which has become synonymous with holding live performances, and even ad hoc jam sessions

“We have live music every night and support grassroots music,” said Paul.   

“We have even put in a bid for lottery funding for equipment. We’ve got a pub piano and that gets used a lot by customers.

“We support local trade, most of our supplies are local, Taylors Farm (in West Lancashire) and Cook’s butchers in Rainford, and the breweries, our cask ales are from a 10-mile radius.

“It has been nice to keep it as local as possible. We have integrated with the local community and get lots of support which is good, with a large emphasis on music and homemade food.”

St Helens Star: Paul, with dad Alan after taking over the pub stood in the same spot back in 2012Paul, with dad Alan after taking over the pub stood in the same spot back in 2012

The past 10 years has seen many highlights for Paul, which included getting married to wife Gel in the pub in 2017, when it started hosting weddings.

“We got the certified wedding venue and I got married in the pub. We were the first couple to get married here in September 2017 in the function room upstairs. We had a do and it was informal, and people said ‘we want a wedding like yours’ and people started to do it in the same style, it’s like a festival vibe.”  

Other highlights have included 80s band The Christians playing a gig in the outside marquee during Covid restrictions, and many groups in the village making use of the facility.

The marquee provided support during the Covid period to many groups such as the brownies, table tennis, Zumba, choirs, ukulele bands to name a few.

Paul admitted negotiating the business through the Covid pandemic was particularly challenging and that it had led to questions over whether the pub could continue to trade.

However, Paul is hoping the Junction can now kick on and is anticipating 2022 to be an important marker for the venue to put the difficulties of the past two years behind it.  

“We’ve managed to keep going, we did consider closing, we couldn’t see how we could continue to trade but hopefully this year is going to be a defining year and we can move forward,” said Paul.

“And praised the support from customers he has had over the past decade.

“Thanks to all the customers that have supported us over the years. We are a destination pub and  we get people travelling from all sorts of places.

“We used to do it as a Star Wars-themed festival but we’ve opened it up to Spiderman and The Hulk now! We’ve called it the Family Fun Weekend.”

There will be live music, kids' fancy dress, bouncy castles and street food among the entertainment at the pub on News Lane, Rainford, starting each day at 3pm on Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1.