| The Golden Ball | |
|---|---|
 The pub in 2023. The original doorway can be seen in the three-storey section of the building | |
 | |
| Alternative names | The Golden Ball Hotel |
| General information | |
| Type | Public house and hotel |
| Address | Ball Street |
| Town or city | Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 53°50′51″N 2°59′33″W / 53.847604°N 2.99253°W |
| Completed | 19th century |
| Owner | Greene King |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Golden Ball is a public house and hotel on Ball Street in the English market town of Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire. Built in the 19th century,[1] it was originally a coaching inn for travellers making their way to local towns and villages.[2][3] During the course of its existence, the building has been a police courtroom, a newsroom and a café.[2] Ball Street is named for the pub.[4]
In 1847, the billiard room of the three-storey building hosted the first county court session in the town.[5]
Beginning in 1897, an auction mart occupied the land behind the building,[6] formerly the pub's gardens, until it was replaced by today's car park. It featured a bull ring and a calf ring. Some of the walls of the auction mart are still standing, with the rings for the tethering of bulls still attached. The Auction Market Company folded in 1964, and some of its buildings became shops — including Gleeson's Joiners, The Victorian Birdcage, The Paper Tree and a charity shop.[2] These were demolished in 2006.
Tom Lockwood, landlord of the pub in the 19th century, formed Catterall & Swarbrick Brewery Ltd. in 1880 with fellow locals William Catterall and John Swarbrick.[7]
The pub is one of 32 buildings in the town's Conservation Area.[8]
As of 2023, the building is owned by Greene King.[9] It was formerly a Tetley's establishment.[10]
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Church Street in the early 1900s. The Golden Ball, using its original entrance, is in view on Ball Street -
Rear (2024) -
Bull tethering rings in the car park -
Part of the pub's interior. The windows look onto Ball Street
- ^ Lancashire County Council & Egerton Lea Consultancy (2005), p. 22
- ^ a b c Storey, Christine (2012). Poulton-le-Fylde Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445630380.
- ^ The Commercial Gazetteer and Travellers' Companion: Comprising a ... List of All the Market Towns, Boroughs and Cities, of England and Wales. Hamilton, Adams & Company. 1870. p. 75.
- ^ A History of Blackpool, the Fylde and South Wyre – Nick Moore (2018), p. 218
- ^ A History of Blackpool, the Fylde and South Wyre – Nick Moore (2018), p. 310
- ^ "Poulton in Pictures: A market town steeped in history" – Blackpool Gazette, 1 May 2020
- ^ Wood, Allan W.; Bottomley, Chris (2016). Blackpool Pubs. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445652849.
- ^ A History of Blackpool, the Fylde and South Wyre – Nick Moore (2018), p. 1151
- ^ "Golden Ball Hotel pub in Poulton-Le-Fylde | Pub & Social". Greene King Pubs. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ "Ball Street, Poulton ~ C1950's(?)". Red Rose Collections from Lancashire County Council. Retrieved 9 July 2024.