- The pub attracted visitors from all over the world due to its unique leaning effect which caused several illusions
- Roads were closed Saturday night due to the blaze, which caused thick smoke to billow into the night’s sky and these could be seen for miles
An iconic pub – famed for its bar seeming to slide uphill – has been destroyed by a fierce fire.
The Crooked House, near Dudley, West Midlands, was engulfed in a large blaze since late Saturday night.
Fire crews from across both West Midlands Fire Service and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue remain at the scene, tackling the blaze Saturday.
Police are asking members of the public to come forward and provide information about the mystery fire.
Dramatic photographs taken shortly after the crews arrived – at around 10pm Sunday night – show the devastation the blaze has caused. No injuries have been reported as the building has been derelict for some time, and was sold this week.
Roads were closed Saturday night due to the blaze, which caused thick smoke to billow into the night’s sky and these could be seen for miles.
Locals have been paying tribute to the landmark this morning, with many expressing their deep sadness at its loss.
One woman wrote online: ‘More history/memories gone up in smoke. Its so sad.’
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It emerged last week Marston’s had sold The Crooked House to a ‘private buyer for alternative use’.
Dating back to 1765, it started sinking into the ground due to mining subsidence in the area and became known as ‘the wonky pub’ across the West Midlands and beyond.
Made structurally safe in the 1940s, it was a family favourite over several generations.
The pub attracted visitors from all over the world due to its unique leaning effect which caused several illusions. It was famed for being the place where coins and marbles seemingly rolled uphill along the bar.
It has been a Grade II-listed building since 1960. Alan Boswell, an insurance broker firm, told Birmingham Live: ‘If you own a listed building, you must get listed building consent if you want to make significant changes to the property.’
A police forensics team have since been spotted in the pub car park investigating the fire. Staffordshire Constabulary said in a statement: ‘We are appealing for information after a fire at a derelict building in Himley late Saturday evening.
‘Crews from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service were already in attendance and had extinguished the blaze. No one was believed to be inside the building and no one has been reported injured.’
