The Blue Ball

The Blue Ball is a thatched stone and timber-framed public house, likely dating to the 17th century, with alterations and additions from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.

The building is principally constructed of roughly coursed stone with ashlar quoins. The main south range is painted, while the 20th-century linking section is rendered. Both are beneath a continuous thatched roof. The 19th-century lean-to range to the south-east elevation is of painted stone under a clay tile roof.

The building has a T-shaped plan composed of a principal linear range arranged on a north-south axis and a connected perpendicular range to the north end (not included in the listing). The interior of the main range contains a series of interconnecting rooms serving the bar and restaurant, with further rooms forming staff accommodation to the first floor.

The principal west-facing elevation of the linear range comprises two phases differentiated by a change in ridge height. The southern part is of four bays set over one-and-a-half storeys. The ground floor features three 20th-century timber six-light casements grouped in threes, set beneath timber lintels. Between the second and third windows is a 20th-century porch of partially painted stone with a pitched tiled roof. Two first floor windows pierce the eaves level beneath eyebrow dormers. The thatched roof above has scalloped block detail to the ridge and is punctuated by three brick stacks. The roof level steps down to the north to continue over the four-bay single-storey 20th-century link. The second bay of this section features a thatched porch supported by timber posts with blocked ridge detail.

The south gable end facing the road has a blanked window to the ground floor with a moulded stone cornice, beaded and rebated jambs, and a chamfered sill. Above this is a pair of six-light casements set within a matching stone surround with a central mullion. The 19th-century outshot to the south-east side is a painted stone and render lean-to with a brick stack and single casement windows to the south and east sides. To the north of this are a series of late 20th- and early 21st-century flat roof ranges.

The ceiling of the two principal rooms of the earlier southern section features exposed joists and axial beams. The beam within the south room is chamfered with stops to its north end and is supported in two sections by a central timber upright. Fireplaces are located at either end of this room: a brick fireplace with segmental arch opening to the south end and a stone inglenook with timber lintel to the north, which forms a partition to the next room. The connected room to the north features a further stone inglenook to its northern end. In the ceiling adjacent to this is an open hatch, above which is a cavity between the masonry wall of the fireplace and an inner 'skin' of what appears to be timber and mortar. The 19th-century outshot features exposed beams and a modern bar area.