The Golden Ball is a pub in the

Bishophill Bishophill is an area of central York, in England. It lies within the city walls and has been occupied since at least the Roman period. Etymology Known as "Bichill" by 1334, the name was also recorded as "Bychehill Lomelyth", "Lomelyth" being ...

area of central

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, in England. The first record of the pub was in 1773. The core part of the building was constructed in the early 19th century. In 1883, a house for the publican was constructed by Benson & Minks, adjoining the pub. The pub was sold to Braime's Brewery in 1884, and this in 1902 was taken over by

John Smith's Brewery John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s. The majority of John Smith's sales are of the nitrogenated Extra Smooth ...

. In 1929, the pub was constructed by their architect Bertram Wilson. He combined the two buildings, raised the ceiling height in the older part of the building, and decorated the front of the pub. In the 1990s, an additional room was added to the pub, from what was formerly a private area. The pub has otherwise been little altered since the 1920s, and is described by the

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founded on 16 ...

(CAMRA) as "the most complete surviving inter-war scheme by John Smith's". In 2010, the pub was

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

on the initiative of CAMRA, and it appears on that organisation's

National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors The National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors was a register of public houses in the United Kingdom with interiors which had been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but us ...

. In 2012, the pub was taken over by a co-operative of local residents. Since then, it has held

beer festival A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales. Asia China *Qingdao International Beer Fes ...

s, an annual summer fete, and sells works by local artists. It also hosts local music nights. The pub has two storeys and a cellar. The whole building is constructed of brick, but the older part, on the corner of Victor Street, has tiling at the ground floor level, and is rendered at the first floor. Its entrance is on Cromwell Road, opening onto a corridor, with the former smoke bar on the left, and the public bar on the right.

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

notes that it has the only known surviving example of a "bar-side seating alcove", known as a "hall". There is a now-disused doorway for take-away sales, signed "Jug & Bottle Dept". The ground floor windows on Victor Street incorporate etched glass, advertising John Smiths and Magnet Ales. Many internal fittings survive from the 1929 redesign, including doors, tiling, flooring, and the bar.

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* {{coord, 53.9549, -1.0851, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade II listed pubs in York National Inventory Pubs