Fire at ‘UK’s wonkiest pub’ as flames rip through iconic boozer after owners announce it will close forever
BRITAIN’S “wonkiest pub” has been totally destroyed by an overnight blaze.
The Crooked House, in Himley, Staffordshire, caught fire at around 10pm last night – days after it was sold.
Staffordshire and West Midlands fire services raced to the scene on Himley Road to battle the flames but could not contain the inferno.
A witness told the Express & Star: “I went up to my yard to check on my horses and could see a lot of smoke coming from the area of The Crooked House so we drove closer to have a look and could see that it was on fire.”
And one local fumed on Facebook: “It is absolutely disgusting that part of our local history has been destroyed like this.”
Pictures taken this morning show the smouldering remains of the quirky 192-year-old watering hole.
Once dubbed “Britain’s wonkiest pub”, the boozer was sold by brewers Marston’s in July with a guide price of £675,000.
The owners say the sale was forced following a break in which caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage.
The pub said in a Facebook post: “The Crooked House has been sold.
“Unlikely to be open its doors again. Marston’s have sold the site to a private buyer for alternative use.”
The sale left locals fearing it would never be used as a pub again and a petition was launched to save it.
As of Saturday night it had attracted more than 3,500 signatures.
The building was constructed in 1765 as a farmhouse but became a pub in the 1830s with people flocking to see how one side is 4ft (1.2m) lower than the other.
Originally called ‘The Siden House’, meaning crooked in Black Country dialect – the pub got its bizarre effect through subsidence caused by mining in the 1800s.
The Crooked House became known for being the place where coins and marbles seemingly rolled uphill along the bar.
The slanted structure is kept standing as a result of being propped up by buttresses made of bricks and metal bars.
The Crooked House had been a Grade II listed building since 1960.