What`s The Roughest Pub You have Been In

I came across this thread on a forum called "The Liverpool Way"  and members were asked what was the roughest pub you have ever been in.  There came stories from all over Liverpool, and also comprised of tales of rough boozers around Britain and the world.  There were some familiar names and the odd places that I have been in.  The Dock Hotel aka "The Bloodtub" gets a mention, along with The Norseman, a Liverpool nightclub owned by a Little Sutton businessman.  At one time, this man bought, refurbished and opened the "One O`Clock Gun" on the Ford Estate in Birkenhead, after it had been trashed and shut down by the local hordes.  I did hear that they received a shock to see the door manned by very tough men.

    In Ellesmere Port, there are only a couple of places that were rough.  The Viscount was situated across the road from the Port Police Station, and was where "The Boys" drank.  The former owner of The Norseman took over The Viscount and was soon publicly praised by the Police for having "A calming effect on the place."  Not hard to fathom out why.

    The Knot Hotel is situated in the town centre and has had a long reputation as a "hole" and my former immediate boss, who went to Stanney school in the Port(His parents still live there), told me that on a visit to see his parents, he and some friends popped into the Knot.  He claimed that some Russian sailors were in there offering Kalashnikovs to the locals!  Considering what it can be like in there, a blind eye had to have been turned to this event.

    The usual trouble spot was The Wheatsheaf, a pub I only ever went into to play a darts match.  For years the atmosphere was appalling, and as it was the place where the troublemakers and dickheads went, I always avoided it.  However, twice this atmosphere of violence and aggression disappeared when it was ran by Terry "Bomber" Swan.  Simple enough, all the arsehole rowdies were shit scared of him.  They certainly had the courage with booze inside them and mates to back them up, but when it came to a real hard nut like Swanny, their bottle went.  Check out this forum because some stories are funny.