Crooked House pub near Dudley demolished

A landmark pub in the Black Country has been demolished two days after fire ripped through the building.

The Crooked House in Himley near Dudley, once known as "Britain's wonkiest pub", caught fire on Saturday night.

Staffordshire Police and the fire service are trying to establish the cause.

In the meantime, the mayor of the West Midlands has called for it to be rebuilt "brick by brick".

Before it was felled, campaigners were petitioning for the damaged building to be restored as a pub, as while the fire had gutted the property, the exterior was largely left standing.

But on Monday afternoon, shocked local residents and former customers gathered at the site to see the large pile of rubble where the pub once stood.

It is not yet clear who demolished the building, which was sold by previous owner Marston's to a private buyer in March.

The property was 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 sink, causing its distinct, sloping appearance.

Mayor Andy Street said he had asked South Staffordshire Council to ensure the pub was rebuilt "and any attempt to change its use blocked".

"We will not let the Crooked House be consigned to history," he said.

"We believe that great pubs have immense cultural and historical value here in the West Midlands and we should be taking steps to protect and preserve their heritage."

Mr Street's letter to council leader Roger Lees, was also signed by West Midlands night-time economy adviser Alex Claridge.

"Whilst we do not yet know the cause of the fire or the outcome of any investigation being conducted by Staffordshire Police or Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, it is clear that we should not allow such a tragic act to be the end of The Crooked House," the correspondence said.

Former Labour MP for Dudley North, Lord Ian Austin, an independent peer, called the destruction of the landmark a tragedy.

"Set on fire and now demolished," he wrote on social media. "Very interested to see what happens to the site now."

He had earlier highlighted how lanes leading up to the pub were found blocked on Saturday, hampering efforts of firefighters to reach the flames.

Station commander Liam Hilton of Staffordshire Fire Service said on Monday "[there were] mounds of mud and soil placed in the centre of the road and covering the whole of [it]".

What remained of the building had been deemed unsafe, the fire service said.

A second letter from Mr Street and Mr Claridge has been sent to Staffordshire Police's chief constable Chris Noble and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue chief fire officer Rob Barber.

It repeated Mr Street's concerns of Monday, stating "clearly there are major questions to be answered" as to what had happened on Saturday, and also raised the issue of dirt mounds hampering firefighters' efforts.

The property was a popular attraction for decades after Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries bought it and converted it into a pub in the 1940s.

Visitors flocked to see the distinctive building and witness the illusion of coins and marbles appearing to roll uphill along the bar.

Marston's listed it for sale with a guide price of £675,000 - a move that was met with a petition to keep the site as a pub.

The new owners would be spoken to as part of inquiries, police said.

Lord Austin said he did not understand why the owners were yet to identify themselves, adding the information would become public eventually via the Land Registry.

Marston's said it was "shocked and disappointed" to learn about the fire.

A spokesperson explained: "We know the significance that the building has within the local community and we are working alongside our colleagues in the police to investigate what happened."

Det Insp Richard Dancey, of Staffordshire Police, said on Monday: "This incident has caused a great deal of speculation locally and we understand the significance of the building within the local community."

The force encouraged anyone with information to come forward.

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