Historic England hints The Crooked House could be rebuilt

Fresh hope for wonky pub The Crooked House as Historic England hints it could be rebuilt after being burned down in ‘arson attack’

• The Crooked House was put forward for listed status days before the fire 

The Crooked House pub which burned down in a suspected ‘arson attack’ earlier this month may be rebuilt, a public heritage body has hinted.

Historic England has said it is ‘considering all possible avenues’ to rebuild Britain’s wonkiest pub after it went up in flames on August 5 in an incident Staffordshire Police are treating as arson.

The body said it has already received 36 applications for the pub in Himley, Staffordshire, but no final decision has yet been made.

An Historic England spokesperson told The Telegraph: ‘This is a complex case and we are still processing the applications we received just before and after the fire occurred last week’.

The Crooked House pub, an 18th century drinking hole formerly known as Britain’s wonkiest

The burnt out remains of The Crooked House pub near Dudley, Monday August 7, 2023

Ian Sandall, from the Save the Crooked House campaign, responded to the news, saying: ‘I’m absolutely delighted that Historic England are as keen as we are about preserving such a wonderfully weird but lovely pub.’

He said that the group was trying to ‘structure an approach’ with Historic England to work towards a full rebuild. 

READ MORE: Is this Britain’s next wonkiest pub? The Tilted Barrel in Tipton boasts off-kilter door and bar – and a shelf where pool balls seemingly roll up instead of down 

Last week it emerged that The Crooked House had been put forward for listed status protection just days before it burned down.

Historic England had already received a submission from experts just a week before the inferno, requesting that the pub be given protection as a listed building.

The blaze came just two weeks after the 18th century boozer was sold by brewer Marston’s to a private buyer. 

Staffordshire Police are treating the blaze as ‘suspicious’ following reports that individuals were seen inside the pub in the hours before it went up in flames. 

The fire completely gutted the venue, which attracted tourists from around the world – and brings a sorry end to its nearly 200-year-old history.

Days after the incident, the pub was bulldozed and completely demolished without permission – much to the horror of locals. 

South Staffordshire Council have since agreed that The Crooked House’s owners, Adam Taylor and his wife Carly, can rip down the first floor of the boozer on safety grounds.

The council has not agreed to, nor deemed necessary, the site’s total demolition. 

Prior to its destruction this month, The Crooked House was often described as Britain’s wonkiest pub, sitting four feet lower on one side than the other. 

The taproom was first built as a farmhouse in 1765, but gradually sank into the ground on one side due to subsidence from mining works carried out in the 1800s. 

It was converted into a pub in around 1830 and was first known as The Siden House – ‘siden’ being Black Country dialect for ‘crooked’.

Local people are becoming increasingly angry about the perceived deliberate destruction of a very famous local landmark

The community at large have been left shocked and saddened at the demise of the Crooked House pub in Himley. Pictured: rubble after the fire

The pub was later renamed the Glynne Arms after Sir Stephen Glynne, a brother-in-law of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, who owned the land on which the tavern stood.

While the Glynne Arms name remained above the door into the 1970s, the pub had acquired a more affectionate nickname among locals by then: The Crooked House, which was later adopted as the formal moniker.

MailOnline contacted Historic England for comment. 

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