Philip Ball was born in Oakham in 1806 and married Mary Bingham in Stamford in 1825, moving to Bailgate in Lincoln by 1826. The Strugglers Public House on Westgate opened in early 1836 and Philip Ball was the first landlord.

Eager to expand the land with The Strugglers, Ball began excavating the Castle moat and bank to level the ground. During his excavations, the West Gate to the upper Roman City was briefly exposed hitherto assumed to have been destroyed with the construction of the Castle in the 11th century, so Ball’s revelation attracted great interest.

Ball was served with a “Notice to Desist” for compromising the structural integrity of the Castle walls, though he continued until the revealed Roman west gate started to collapse and was hastily reburied. The West gate was exposed for five days, 11 – 15 April 1836 and fortunately two contemporary drawings were made for The Gentleman’s Magazine and by Samuel Tuke.

Though a High Court injunction was issued, Ball refused to pay for the damage caused and was consequently arrested and held in the debtor’s prison in the Castle.

Ball’s mental health deteriorated latterly and by 1850 he had been committed to a Lunatic Asylum in Hull, later transferred to Leicester Asylum where he died in 1852.