The landlady of an iconic Lancashire pub had been in post for just over a fortnight when an unannounced hygiene inspection slapped down a rating that told her major improvement was needed.
Dawn Markland is at the helm at The Top Lock, a popular pub in summer due to its canalside location near Wheelton, having taken over in March 2025.
But on 8 April, food safety officers from Chorley Council visited The Top Lock and scored it a 1 out of 5, saying major improvement was necessary.
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The report, obtained by Blog Preston, said that a number of those improvements had to be made to comply with the law.
It was evidence of mice in the kitchen area that contributed most to the rating. At the time of the inspection, Dawn was able to show to the inspector that a pest control service had been employed and the report notes that they actually arrived to carry out work while the inspection was taking place.
Further changes were ordered, including taking all ‘reasonable precautions’ to ensure that pests could not gain access to the kitchen and a number of improvements to the kitchen itself.
These included improving the extractor, door frames, food waste facilities and various recommendations regarding the food safety management system.
Dawn had no objections with the rating given to The Top Lock but closed the pub temporarily to ensure all the work could take place.
The business paid Chorley Council for a rapid reinspection and they have since been upgraded to a four. The Food Standards Agency website is still displaying a 1 out of 5 but Blog Preston has been shown the relevant documents.
Dawn never expected to be landlady of The Top Lock. The former landlord, who Blog Preston was not able to reach for this article so will not be named, reportedly left the pub in March in the condition that the report describes.
She had been serving as manager for 12 months.
Dawn told Blog Preston: “The pub was quite rundown. The landlord hadn’t really done much with it. I’ve redecorated, I’ve done the beer garden, which was just full of junk.
“I’ve put quite a bit of work into it and the brewery are going to come and retarmac.
“We’ve got a little ice cream parlour outside called Lock 58 – which is the name of the lock outside.
“And we’ve not seen or heard from the previous landlord since.”
A reinspection of the premises would not take place until September. Dawn says the new four out of five rating was welcome but that she was told by the inspector more time was needed before a five could be awarded.
Dawn said: “The time taken was partly my fault. I wanted the new chef in and I wanted everything in place before they came back.
“Finding chefs can be hard so I wanted to make sure we had everything running smoothly.”
The Top Lock is now approaching a quieter time of year. Its canalside location means that during the summer customers are not hard to come by – but winter can be challenging.
A loyal bunch of locals helps during these times and Dawn says it helps that she has been in the community for years.
It has live music on alternate Saturdays and a pub quiz on Thursdays during the week which is hosted by one of Dawn’s regulars.
The food menu could be described as affordable at a time when prices are increasing.
Dawn said: “We want to keep it more as a pub – a country pub. It’s not fine dining.
“We’ve had some brilliant reviews for the food.”
The Top Lock is not unique in having periods of closure over the last decade. The pub was closed post-pandemic for at least a year and has gone through multiple operators since then.
She said: “The regulars were worried that the pub was going to close again when the landlord left. I said that we can’t let that happen.
“It’s a community pub and it’s got to stay open.”
With the new rating in place, Dawn says she can plan properly for the future.
“We’re going to drive the food more. We’re talking about a little music festival next year and the farm has given us permission to use their field. It’s just whether the brewery will let me do it.”
The brewery in question is Star Pubs, a pub-operating division of Heineken. They operate around 2,400 pubs in the UK and are known to invest heavily in upgrading pubs – but also for tying landlords to buying products that they sell.
Dawn has no problem with that arrangement and says Star has been supportive since she took over.
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