The Development of Ball

The map on the left below shows the Ball area as it is today. On the right is roughly how it must have looked for several hundred years before Ball Mill was built, and the Morda diverted for the mill race. The main Maesbury Road simply followed the line of Wats' Dyke up to Oswestry. The road branching off to the right was Marsh Lane, which led down to the marsh.

When Ball Mill was built, probably between about 1500-1700, the road had to be diverted because the mill race cut through Wat's Dyke in two places. At some point Gwernybrenin Lane was also diverted, the 1752 map shows it going straight up to Weston Lane. The map below show a more detailed view of Ball in 1890 - by which time the arrival of the canal had made Marsh Lane much more important than the old Maesbury Road (now Ball Lane):

The Original Ball was now in an oddly isolated position alongside the main road, but it was there before the canal arrived in 1795, so it would have made more sense to build it on the old Maesbury Road (Ball Lane), or even better at the junction of the two - but maybe it was... the alignment of the hedgerows suggests what it may have looked like before 1795:

Maesbury Road could have followed the line of the Crumpwell driveway down to the old village of Maesbury (bottom of Ball Lane), and the Original Ball was built at the junction of all the roads, a very logical place for a traveller's inn. The backsmith's shop was just to the north of it, forming an 18th century roundabout - or a ball...?

As the road to the canal wharf became increasingly important the pattern of the minor roads - little more than muddy tracks at that time - could have shifted. By 1839 the area looked much as it does today.

The map on the right is from 'late 18th or early 19th century' according to Shropshire County Archives. It is an estate map for tax purposes, showing that the owners of the Original Ball also owned some cottages and a croft just south of the Ball, an 'allotment on Gwern y Brenyn', and some cottages at West Felton cross roads. Unfortunately we don not have the precise date or the names of the owners of all this property, thought Guage family appear to have spread over a similar area by the mid 19th century censuses.

The two pictures below are photos of a painting of the Original Ball, signed 'I P Fowler 1895' , the blacksmith's workshop can be seen in the background:
- click on the images for bigger versions

Some photos of the above areas (taken December 2005) :


The Original Ball from across the main road.


from the Ball car park looking towards Crumpwell, the driveway is just left of the telephone pole.


Tthe rear of the ball towards the Chapel, the lane would have been between the two, connecting with the old 'Ball Lane, now the car park.


Crumpwell driveway


the bungalows on the site of the smithy and the orchard


the old entrance to the smithy

left: Bay Cottage ( now Bay Tree and extended upwards) with the old front door on the opposite side to the road, suggesting that the road wasn't there when the cottage was built. The door faces the smithy road.
Right: the Ball Farm house, now Brooklands.

The Original Ball, the Blacksmith and Bay Cottage

F. A. Mason* tells us that the Original Ball Inn changed owners in 1788, but earlier records seem to have been lost. If the above analysis of the road layout is correct then the Inn was built on the road junction.

There are no indications that there were ever any more houses nearby than there are now, so the Ball was never a village pub. It seems more likely to have been built for travellers between Maesbury and Oswestry.

The occupants of The Original Ball:

- Until 1788 - Gabriel Wynn, from Bath, Somerset
- 1788-1811 - Samuel & Edward Lloyd (brothers)
- 1811 - John Bassnett and Robert Tudor (must have been a brief stay)
- 1811-1841 - Francis Guage, apparently a native of France (one of the Napoleonic prisoners of war...? )
- 1841-42 - Margaret Guage
- 1842-73 - George Daniel Guage

 The Ball Blacksmiths:
There was probably a blacksmiths at Ball for about the same time as the Inn, but early records are not available.		 Bay Cottage
(now Bay Tree on the corner of Ball Lane/main road)
1851 Census :
George Daniel Gauge, head, married, 50, Innkeeper, b. London
Mary Gauge, wife, married, 39, b. Oswestry
Mary Gauge, daughter, 10, b, Kinnerley
Elinor, Gauge, daughter, 5, b. Oswestry
Elizabeth Gauge, daughter, 5, b. Oswestry
John? Gauge, son, 4 months, b.Oswestry
Richard Summerfield, servant, 9, b. Oswestry
(b. Oswestry probably = born in Maesbury)

1851 Census:
John Lloyd, head, married, 61, blacksmith, b. Gobowen, Salop
Ann Lloyd, wife, married, 66, b. Maesbrook
Edward Lloyd, son, unmarried, 26, b. Maesbury
Ann Lloyd, daughter, 19, b. Maesbury
Ann Lloyd, granddaughter, 9, b. Maesbury
William Williams, servant, unmarried, 20, blacksmith, b. Rhewlas, Denbighshire
John Broughams, lodger, married, 21 joiner, b. Flintshire

 1851 Census
- this is not clear enough to see which of several cottages was Bay Cottage

1861 Census
George Guage, head, married, 60, farmer of 30 acres & Inn keeper, b. Middlesex
Mary Guage, wife, married, 49, b. Oswestry
Elizabeth Guage, daughter, 13, b. Oswestry
John Guage, son, 4, b. Oswestry
Robert Thomas, servant, 11 plough boy, b. Melverley

1869 - George Daniel Guage fined 10s and costs at the Oswestry Petty Sessions, for permitting drunkeness

 1861 Census
John Lloyd, head, married, 71, blacksmith, b. Oswestry
Anne Lloyd, wife, married, 75, b. Kinnerley
Anne Lloyd, granddaughter, unmarried, 19, b. Oswestry
William Williams, unmarried, servant, 31, blacksmith, b. Oswestry		 1861 Census
[specific address not given, but probably Bay Cottage]
Private Cottage
Elizabeth Gallant, head, widow, 66, ag lab's wife, b. Alberbury Salop
Mary Williams, Lodger, unmarried, 69, b. Llanyblodwell

1871 Census
George D. Guage, head, married, 70, Innkeeper,b. London
Mary Guage, wife, married, 59, b. Oswestry
Elizabeth Guage, daughter, unmarried, 27, servant general, b. Oswestry
John Guage, son, unmarried, 14, servant general, b. Oswestry

- 1873-1889 Francis Guage
1878 - George Daniel Guage fined £3 and costs at the Oswestry Petty Sessions, for permitting drunkeness

1871 Census
James Evans, head, married, 27, blacksmith, b. Melverley
Mary Evans, wife, married, 23, b. Kinnerley
? Buntell, nephew, 14, apprentice to blacksmith

In a cottage nearby:
Elizabeth Lloyd, head, unmarried, 56, housekeeper, b. Maesbury
John Lloyd, father, widower, 81, retired blacksmith, b. Gobowen

1871 Census
[no specific address given, but probably Bay Cottage]
Moses Tomlinson, head, married, 50, carpenter, b. Ruyton
Eleanor Tomlinson, wife, married, 50, b. Ellesmere
Richard Tomlinson, son, unmarried, 21, carpenter, b. Ruyton 11 Towns

1881 Census
Francis Guage, head, married, 44, Innkeeper, b. Kinnerley, Salop
Elizabeth Guage, wife, married, 50, b. Berriew, Mont.
George Guage, son, unmarried, 20, brewer, b. Kinnerley
Ellen Guage, daughter, unmarried, 18, b. Kinnerley
William Guage, son, 12, scholar, b. Kinnerley
Matilda Guage, daughter, 10, scholar, b. Kinnerley
Margaret Guage, sister, unmarried, 49, b. Maesbury

1883 - Francis Guage fined £1 plus costs, for harbouring drunks
1885 - Francis Guage fined £5 with his license endorsed, for harbouring drunks

- 1889 George Guage, son of Francis above
1889 - George Guage fined £1 with costs of £2 13s 2d

 1881 Census
John Paddock, head, married, 34, blacksmith, b. Melverley
Elizabeth Paddock, wife, married, 34, b. Salop
Mary c. Paddock, daughter, 9, scholar, b. Great Ness
George Paddock, son, 7, scholar, b. Melverley
Elizabeth Paddock, daughter, 2, b. Kinnerley
John E. Paddock, son, 4, months, b. Maesbury		 1881 Census
[no specific address given, but probably Bay Cottage]
Edward Kent, married, 51, retired farmer, b. Llangollen
Emma Kent, wife, married, 50, b. Llanymynech
Lizzie Kent, daughter, 16, b. West Felton

1891 Census
George Guage, head, single, 30, inn keeper & hop merchant?, b. Salop
Elleanor Guage, sister, single, 28 housekeeper, b. Salop
William Guage, brother, single, 22, farmer, b. Maesbrook
Edward Edwards, lodger, single, 47, labourer, b. Presgwene, Salop
Matilda Guage, sister, single, 20, b. Maesbrook

1896, return of licensed houses of the Petty Sessional Division of the Hundreds of Oswestry. The Ball Inn classed as a beer house. Owner Mrs. Francis Guage of Ventnor, Isle of Wight; licensee George Guage (her son as above). There were nine rooms, including three bedrooms, and stabling for four horses. Rateable value £24.

 1891 Census
John Paddock, head, married, 45, blacksmith, b. Melverley, Salop
Elizabeth Paddock, wife, married, 45, b. Cheshire
George Paddock, son, single, 16, blacksmith, b. Melverley
Elizabeth Paddock, daughter, 12, scholar, b. Knockin Heath
John Paddock, son, 9, b. Maesbury
Maratha ? , being nursed, 5, b. Oswestry		 1891 Census
Bay Cottage
Edward Kent, head, married, 79, retired farmer, b. Llangollen
Elizabeth Kent, wife, married, 70, b. Llanymynech
1901 Census
George Guage, head, married, 40, inn keeper pub, own account, b.Kinnerley
Sarah J, Guage, wife married, 40, b.Welshpool
George E. Guage, son, single, 2, b.Oswestry
Mary. E. Guage, daughter, single, 1, b.Oswestry
Edward Edwards, servant, single, 58, barman at inn, b.St Martins
Sarah Bowen, servant, single, 14, servant domestic, b.Llanymynech		 1901 Census
John Paddock, head, married, 55, blacksmith, own account, b.Melverley
Elizabeth Paddock, wife, married, 55, b.Chester, Cheshire
Edward Paddock, son, single, 20, blacksmith, worker, b.Oswestry

1901 Census
[no specific address given, but probably Bay Cottage]
Ebenezer Jones, head, married, 36, labourer on farm, b.Bangor, Denbigh
Mary E. Jones, wife, married, 34, b.Knockin
Florence Jones, daughter, single, 6, b.Knockin
Edith Jones, daughter, single, 3, b. Oswestry
Thomas A. Jones, son, single, 2 months, b.Oswestry

- by 1916 - George Daniel Guage (died in 1921, 3 years after his son died in the war. Pte. Guage is listed on the village was memorial)
- 1921 - Sarah J. Guage
- 1921-51 - Richard Price, owner, with S. J. Guage and Miss M. E. Guage as managers
- 1951-55 - Wilfred Holmes, owner, with Miss M. E. Guage as manager or help

 F.A. Mason*:
"By 1922 the father had retired and the two grown up sons, George and Edward, Ned, as he was more popularly known, were running a very well organised blacksmith shop, . . . George living in the adjacent cottage and Ned further down the main road."
"After the Paddock brothers retired about 1947, John Fernyhough . . ran the forge and with not much work in the way of a farrier he turned to making wrought iron gates for customers."		 --
---F. A. Mason* adds, apparently from his own memory of the 1920s and 30s: "Apart from the living quarters the pub had two public rooms, the bar and the lounge, with different entrances (did the lounge entrance face the present main road?). The beer was kept in the cellar in wood casks and brought up in large enamel jugs. When empty, customers had to wait while the landlord carrying the lantern trundled down the steps to the cellar for a refill. In olden days there was quite a large garden with an orchard at the rear, now-a-days, like most country inns that has all disappeared and in its place a large car park." "John kept the smithy going until 1952 . . . Before long the old shop had deteriorated and eventually came under the demolition hammer together with George's cottage." --
  --- --

* A Little Bit of Shropshire: The Village of Maesbury, 1800-1930 by F. A. Mason, published by Gee & Son, Denbigh

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