First look: We step inside Chesterfield's oldest pub Ye Royal Oak to meet new owners and Gerald the knight in shining armour ahead of Good Friday reopening

Meg Hartman and Patrick Hopkins have spent months getting Ye Royal Oak in The Shambles ready for the relaunch. Patrick said: “We are super excited to get it back open again.” Meg commented: “We’re aware it’s our pub, but it’s the town’s pub – we feel like custodians because it’s important to so many people.”

Standing above the door in the oldest part of the listed building is a suit of armour which the couple have called Gerald. It’s a nod to the building’s history as a rest-house for The Knights Templar during the Holy Crusades of the 12th century. Patrick said: “The suit of armour had been in my eBay basket for a very long time – I’d wanted to buy it for about 10 years and now was the time and perfect place for it.”

A bar which serves both the Tudor room and the Victorian room has been restored to its former glory. Meg said: “It’s a nice wooden bar which was underneath about 16 different layers of paint and an awful vinyl sticker layer which was hard to get off. The renovations have been about stripping things back and enhancing what was already here.”

Seven layers of wallpaper have been removed and the walls in the Victorian room have been painted in a dark yellow to replace a mismatch of red, brown, magnolia and eggshell. The Tudor room has been repainted in white and the exposed ceiling beams painted black.

While working on their pub’s makeover, Patrick and Meg discovered underseat heating and a snuff box hidden below a seating pad.

A butcher’s slab remains in the cellar as does a sealed trapdoor which is believed to lead to one of Chesterfield’s famous tunnels.

Family and friends have helped the couple with the mammoth task of renovation and cleaning. Meg’s mum, Ruth, got up at 3.30am to drive from Devon to Derbyshire to tackle the pub’s deep-clean. Patrick’s mum, Christine, who lives in Essex helped out with the painting. Meg said: “It’s been a labour of love.”

Meg, 28, and Patrick, 29, who live in Brimington, gave up teaching jobs a fortnight ago to pursue their dream of running their own pub. Both have previous experiences in the hospitality industry – Meg managed pubs in Sheffield and Patrick managed pubs in the Scottish Highlands.

They have taken on three employees to help behind the bar and in the kitchen at Ye Royal Oak.

Customers visiting the pub will have the choice of eight cask and eight keg beers supplied by the country’s independent brewers including two within a 10-mile radius of Chesterfield – Shiny in Little Eaton and Abbeydale in Sheffield. Meg said: “I'm quite excited about being able to bring beers from around the country that maybe don't make it this way all the time." The pub will also serve organic wine and boxed ciders.

A selection of seven pies, supplied by Pieminister, will satisfy meat lovers, vegetarians, vegans and gluten intolerants.

There is also a barista coffee machine to appeal to customers who call into the pub, which will open at 10am from Tuesday to Saturday and 12 noon on Sunday.

Patrick and Meg are keen darts players and have formed a team for the Chesterfield league. A darts board hangs in the Victorian room of the Ye Royal Oak, alongside a wall decorated with beer trays. There will be quiz nights on Tuesdays, folk music afternoons on Sundays and a collection of board games to keep customers entertained.

A beer garden with tables and chairs is planned for the Irongate side of the building which the couple hope to introduce in time for summer.

Passers-by are as delighted as Patrick and Meg are about the relaunch. Patrick said: "When we go outside, people are so excited about the reopening of Chesterfield’s oldest pub. It’s been pretty overwhelming.” Meg said: “Everyone is so willing to share their own stories. Many people started courting in this pub. People have sent us photos of drinking in here in the Seventies and Eighties which are really lovely.”

Shaun Stevenson, founder of the Chesterfield Great Historic Pub Tours, has always enjoyed showing people the pub’s airy Tudor room with its high ceiling and leaded windows. He said: “It’s like a church, it’s venerable and it’s got that old wood smell that you only get in a church.”

Shaun’s first visit to the pub was in 1985 when he was 18 years old. He recalled: “It was very much a man’s pub – an old-fashioned drinking establishment – but always had a warm welcome to it."

Like many residents of Chesterfield Shaun is delighted that Ye Royal Oak is reopening. He said: “This place is going to attract a lot of people who appreciate that there’s a curated list of beer that’s constantly rotating – there will always be something different to try as well as some old favourites. Somebody with thought and a decent palate is picking beers for people to enjoy.

"The hospitality industry is one of the thriving parts of Chesterfield.”