Crooked House owners propose rebuilding pub in different place

The pub was demolished after a suspected arson attack

The owners of what was once known as “Britain’s wonkiest inn” have put forward a plan to rebuild it in a new location after it was demolished following a suspected arson attack.

ATE Farms Limited have been ordered to rebuild the Crooked House pub in Himley, near Dudley, after it was knocked down following a fire in August 2023.

But in appeal documents, it said the current location was “not viable” for a pub and rebuilding on land it owns in the nearby area would increase its “chance of success as a community asset”.

South Staffordshire Council’s enforcement notice states the pub must be built back to what it was prior to the fire. An appeal against the order is set to be heard in July.

The Crooked House was first built in 1765 as a farmhouse but due to mining in the area during the early 19th Century, one side of the building began to gradually sink.

It became a Black Country icon that attracted attention from all over the world.

The pub caught fire on 5 August in a suspected arson attack and was demolished two days later.

Staffordshire Police said five men and one woman were arrested and bailed in connection with the fire.

ATE Farms Limited said rebuilding in the current location in line with the enforcement notice would still “not provide a sustainable community facility” as the building was not this prior to its sale by the Marstons brewery.

The owners said people had not been using the building “for it to be viable as a pub” and its location and lack of footfall were key to this.

Instead, the owners said they had put forward a “genuine and practical” solution to rebuild the Crooked House on other land it owned, further north of Crooked House Lane.

“In its current location, should it be rebuilt, there is no doubt that there would be a huge amount of interest in the first few months, however, this does not translate to continued and sustained interest to make the building work as pub going forward,” they said.

The re-built building would be run as a pub, with other development to increase footfall, and to give it “a real chance of success as a community asset”.

Campaigners have called for the Crooked House pub to be rebuilt

The owners also said they were “not in any way responsible” for the fire which broke out on 5 August and destroyed a substantial part of the pub structure.

They said, at a site meeting the council agreed with its contractors certain parts of the remaining structure should be demolished on safety grounds.

However, the owners said it had “not been foreseen” this removal would make the rest of the building “completely unsafe.”

They also said “notwithstanding the opinion that it should have been, the building was not listed”.

However, it recognised the “extraordinary” level of public feeling towards the Crooked House.

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