Britain’s newly crowned ‘wonkiest pub’ FAILS to sell at auction: Grade II listed Tilted Barrel is greeted with silence as punters fail to meet its £170,000 guide price

• The Grade-II listed property’s slant is due to mining subsidence in the 1800s 

Britain’s newly crowned ‘wonkiest pub’ has failed to sell at auction after its owners refurbished the venue and put it on the market for £170,000 just months after the title’s former holder, the Crooked House, went up in flames. 

The Tilted Barrel in Tipton, West Midlands, is just five miles down the road from the Crooked House pub, which was burnt down in a suspected arson attack in August this year.

The Grade-II listed property is now said to be the wonkiest in the UK, with its slant being attributed to mining subsidence in the 1800s.

Landlady Haych Mann took over the pub, which was built around 1820, in February this year and spent months refurbishing the inside of the 200-year-old boozer – but bidders failed to reach the reserve price of £178,000, meaning it remains unsold.

Local residents had been campaigning to have the Crooked House listed for its protection in the weeks before the fire, which gutted the building. The remnants of the pub were then demolished without planning permission.

Regular Carl Falconer poses outside The Tilted Barrel in Tipton – which failed to sell under the hammer on Wednesday

The pub is now regarded as Britain’s wonkiest after the fire which saw the demise of The Crooked House

Birmingham-based auctioneers Cottons had hoped the pub would sell for far more than its listed price, but the lot fell on deaf ears when it went under the hammer on Wednesday. 

The auctioneer attempted to open bidding at £180,000, but failed to get a single bidder interested until dropping the price to £160,000.

Although bidding rose to £170,000, there were no takers for £172,000 meaning the guide price was not met and the auctioneer declared the property unsold, the Express and Star reported. 

Landlady Haych, 38, who took over The Tilted Barrel in February, said she ‘fell in love’ with the venue, which is her first pub venture.

Speaking after the Tilted Barrel took over the moniker of ‘Britain’s wonkiest pub’ following the Crooked House fire on August 5, she said: ‘It’s a bitter sweet moment.

‘Most of our regulars drank in the Crooked House too. I’m a local girl so I knew the pub well and we have lost an iconic pub in the Crooked House.

Wreckage at the site of The Crooked Pub after the burnt-out building was demolished without permission

The Tilted Barrel has taken over the title from The Crooked House, which burnt down in August (pictured before demolition)

The pub had a guide price of between £170,000 and £178,000

‘So I’m both sad and proud at the same time to learn we might now have that title.

READ MORE: Britain’s newly crowned ‘wonkiest pub’ hits the market for £175,000: Grade II listed Tilted Barrel goes up for auction months after Crooked House burned down in ‘arson attack’ 

‘It’s certainly not something I’m celebrating as the Crooked House was a landmark and a piece of Black Country history.’ 

She added: ‘I just fell in love with the place. It was just really unique and quirky. It was a bit run down when I took it over, I couldn’t believe people were drinking in here in the state it was in but at the same time I thought it was brilliant.

‘We’ve had a refurb and business is picking up as people have read about us online. I looked at a few pubs, which were probably nicer, but this one was different and it really appealed to me.

Due to the Grade II listing status on the Tilted Barrel, it is unlikely any new owner will be allowed to alter the building’s appearance.

The Crooked House pub was engulfed in a fire in August, now suspected to be arson.

Six people have been arrested by police over the inferno, which saw the historic pub gutted as local residents tried to have the 18th century venue listed to protect it.

Police said their investigation into the fire at the pub continues and urged anyone with information to contact the force.

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