Description

SANDWELL MB HALL END
SO 9895 SE
Wednesbury
11/87 No 19 (Old Blue Ball
Public House)

II

Public house. Early to mid-C19. Rendered brick with slate roof. Two storeys.
Two bays. On the ground floor are timber canted bay windows linked by a timber
fascia. The first floor windows are sashed with glazing bars. Door between
bays. Chimneys on gables in front of ridge. The pub is known locally as
"Spittle's" because of its former landlord Jonah Spittle (1765 - 1844) who
organised cock fights on adjacent land and was one of the subjects of the
well-known broadside ballad "Wedgebury Cocking":

"At Wedgebury there was a cocking,
A match between Newton and Scroggins,
The colliers and nailors left work
And to Old Spittle's went jogging.
To see this noble sport,
Many noble men resorted,
And though they'd little money,
With that they freely sported ....."

"The cock pit was near to the church,
an ornament unto the town.
On one side was an old coal pit,
The other well gors'd around ....."

(Raven, J: The Urban and Industrial Songs of the Black Country and Birmingham,
1977, pp 110 - 115).

Listing NGR: SO9859895462

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26343474

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)