One year on from tragedy, campaigners for rebuilding The Crooked House pub have renewed their determination to see ‘Britain’s wonkiest inn’ stand again.
Last year, The Crooked House pub in Himley, near Dudley was destroyed by a suspected arson attack.
Just 48 hours later, the burnt-out remains of the building erected in the 1760s were illegally demolished, leaving locals in a state of emotional shock.
Speaking in August 2023, one man told GB News: “You can see the outpouring of grief from people coming here, it is like a death, it’s hit us personally.”
Last year, The Crooked House pub was destroyed by a suspected arson attack
GB News
Another added: “We aren’t going to let this drop; we’re going tofight every corner until we can get justice for what’s happened here.”
In the months after, the community forged a campaign to get what was regarded as Britain’s wonkiest pub rebuilt brick-by-brick.
That included securing thousands of salvaged bricks from the site which are secured in containers in the hope they’ll rise from the ground once again.
This February, South Staffordshire Council served an enforcement order to force owners, ATE Farms LTD, to rebuild the pub within three years.
However, the owners appealed against the order and the planning inspectorate accepted their request to postpone a public inquiry because of potential separate court action relating to the fire.
Six suspects have so far been arrested and released without charge, but Staffordshire Police say their investigations continue.
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The burnt-out remains of the building erected in the 1760s were illegally demolished
GB News
Campaigners still visit the site regularly and campaigner and local councillor, Ian Sandall, says the pub was about more than a place to drink.
He told GB News: “First and foremost, it was a pub. It was a weird wonderful quirky pub, the likes of which you’ll never see again anywhere else.
“That was part of its charm, and because here in the black country it was so renowned, there’s a lot of emotional attachment with everybody.”
He added: “It was built in 1765, that’s years before the birth of the United States of America.
“This place has seen the world change beyond belief so it’s part of our heritage and a massive part of our black country history and culture.”
One of the people who has been instrumental in the campaign, Paul Turner, says the focus remains the same one year on.
In the months after, the community forged a campaign to get what was regarded as Britain’s wonkiest pub rebuilt brick-by-brick
GB News
He said: “The way we see it, we want to be in there having a drink and we want it to be a pub again.
“We’re not sure of the route to get to that point, the first thing we’ve got to see is the appeal fail and the enforcement notice make them rebuild, and once they've done that we’ve got to work out where to go from there.”
For people in the Black Country, the demolition of The Crooked House pub felt like a direct attack on their history and the memories they’d made at the site.
Paul told GB News: “We’d come down here on our bikes and the landlord would let us in to see the marble roll up the ledge.
“Then when we became adults, when we’d have people to stay from the UK or around the world, you’d take them to The Crooked House because it was unique, and we liked to show it off.
“There are people around the world who think ‘we’ll never get to visit it now’ but we’re determined that they will.”