“THURSDAYS are really busy - it’s quiz night.”
Around 15 teams gather every week at The Old Ball in Brownberrie Lane, Horsforth, to test their general knowledge.
“We are very close to Leeds Trinity University so we get a lot of students taking part, and people come from further away as well,” says assistant manager Millie Manson.
“Everyone has fun and there is a really good atmosphere in the pub.”
Customers come to enjoy the ales, with Leeds Pale being a popular hand pull choice, alongside Doom Bar. “We also sell John Smith’s and Guinness, and Coors is very popular, and is £2 a pint from 5pm on quiz night.”
The spacious hostelry - our T&A Pub of the Week - offers a varied menu.
“Pizzas and burgers are always in demand,” says Millie. There’s a range of meat, vegetarian and vegan pizzas, all made with sourdough.
Top burger choices are chargrilled beef, cheese and bacon, and katsu chicken stack, while pub classics include steak and Guinness pie, sausage and mash and veggie sausage and mash.
Vegans will not be disappointed with burger, pizza and curry among the mains.
The Old Ball is a ‘sports pub’, with nine screens and three Sky boxes.
“When major sporting events are on we can show different games at the same time. We show football, rugby, cricket, boxing, tennis, all sorts,” says Millie.
The original Old Ball pub dates back to 1773 when local tanner Jacob Edmundson was granted a licence to serve beer. The land had belonged to the Stanhope family and when deciding upon a name, they settled on the ‘Old Bull', the animal being a family pet. Bad handwriting was read as 'ball' which it remained.
Even back then the pub had long associations with sport. An old catch game ‘knurr and speel’ is said to have been played in the adjacent field in days gone by, along with cock fighting and cricket, the latter still played there at Horsforth Cricket Club.
The inn was used as an official meeting place for tenant farmers who would come to pay their rent to the Stanhopes. This building was demolished in 1969 and the present Old Ball built a short distance back from the road.
Millie, who grew up locally and went to Horsforth High School, has worked at The Old Ball for nine years. “I started here when I was 19, I have practically grown up here,” she laughs. “We have a lot of regulars from the local area - I can’t walk along the street without someone passing who knows me from the pub.”
She adds: “We are on a roundabout so we also get a lot of passing customers from elsewhere who fancy stopping off for a drink or something to eat.”
The family-friendly pub is often chosen to host occasions such as christenings, baby showers and funeral wakes. “People hire the raised area which is set back from the main pub,” says Millie. “We have a really nice beer garden too, which wraps around the pub.”
She loves her job. “We have a lovely team, which makes it a great place to work.”
*The Old Ball, Brownberrie Lane, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 5HA; theoldballleeds.co.uk.
Would you like to nominate a Pub of the Week? Email helen.mead@telegraphandargus.co.uk
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