Firefighters called to tackle blaze at The Crooked House in Himley, West Midlands

Archived version: https://archive.ph/sQLTT

Britain’s “wonkiest pub”, which dates back to 1765, has been gutted by fire just days after being sold to a private buyer for alternative use.

Firefighters were called on Saturday night to The Crooked House pub, in Himley near Dudley in the West Midlands, which gained its name after it started sinking into the ground due to mining subsidence in the area.

Roads around the area were closed as smoke and flames could be seen pouring from the Grade II-listed building.

A spokesperson for Staffordshire fire and rescue service said several crews attended a severe fire at the pub and tried to extinguish the blaze. An investigation into the cause of the fire was already under way, they said.

The building was originally a farmhouse, and became a public house in about 1830, originally named The Siden House, with “siden” meaning “crooked” in the local Black Country dialect.

It was deemed unsafe in the 1940s and was scheduled for demolition, before it was bought by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries which used buttresses and girders to make the structure safe while maintaining its lopsided appearance.

It had been a tourist attraction ever since, thanks to its distinctive appearance and optical illusions created by the wonky structure, such as coins and marbles appearing to roll uphill along the bar.

It’s former owner, the British pub and hotel operator Marston’s, put the pub up for sale this year with a guide price of £675,000.

An update post on the pub’s Facebook page on 27 July said: “The Crooked House has been sold. Unlikely to open its doors again. Marston’s have sold the site to private buyer for alternative use, that is all we know. This is just to update the page so nobody makes any wasted journeys to the site.”

A petition to save the pub from redevelopment, launched on 29 July, had attracted more than 3,500 signatures.

  • marmarama@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    11 months ago

    Way too obvious. They could have left it standing for at least a few weeks before an uhhh… “electrical fire”.

    Of course, no-one is going to get prosecuted for this.

      • jocanib@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        11 months ago

        Rebuilding this would be impossible, I think. But listing the ruins to ensure they are preserved rather than redeveloped would be fitting, as would prosecuting the fuck out of these arseholes.

        Neither will happen, of course. As a semi-local, I hope the locals find ways to make sure any redevelopment is a loss-making disaster for the new owners.

    • Bernie Ecclestoned@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      11 months ago

      Staffordshire police said they were working with fire investigators to establish the cause of the fire. A spokesperson for the force said: “Fire investigators are inspecting the scene this morning and officers are making local enquiries to secure any information that might help the investigation.”

    • peppinoEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      Only heard of this pub last week when I read an article about it closing its doors after being sold on or something, does seem suspicious!

  • DJDarren@beehaw.orgEnglish
    6·
    11 months ago

    just days after being sold to a private buyer for alternative use.

    🎶 Insuuurannnnce jooooob 🎶

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    3·
    11 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Britain’s “wonkiest pub”, which dates back to 1765, has been gutted by fire just days after being sold to a private buyer for alternative use.

    Firefighters were called on Saturday night to The Crooked House pub, in Himley near Dudley in the West Midlands, which gained its name after it started sinking into the ground due to mining subsidence in the area.

    Roads around the area were closed as smoke and flames could be seen pouring from the Grade II-listed building.

    It was deemed unsafe in the 1940s and was scheduled for demolition, before it was bought by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries which used buttresses and girders to make the structure safe while maintaining its lopsided appearance.

    An update post on the pub’s Facebook page on 27 July said: “The Crooked House has been sold.

    This is just to update the page so nobody makes any wasted journeys to the site.”A petition to save the pub from redevelopment, launched on 29 July, had attracted more than 3,500 signatures.

    I’m a bot and I’m open source!