2024-03-15 12:00:03
Stephen Clarke-Shutterstock
The Crooked House, a British pub that was once a beloved landmark, was completely destroyed in a suspicious fire last summer. At the end of February this year, the local council ordered the building’s owner to rebuild it in its previous “leaning state”.
Associated PressOn February 27, South Staffordshire County Council released a statement. After “consulting with the owners”, it ordered the pub to be “restored to its pre-fire condition” by February 2027. The three owners who received the notice will have 30 days to file an objection.
Crooked House, located near the village of Himley, regarding 200km northwest of London, is built with the entire structure tilted at an angle of more than 15 degrees. The building is unique in that there is a 1.2m difference in floor height between the left and right sides. The exterior is a roughly rectangular two-story brick building, with a retaining wall reinforcing the subsidence on the left side.
The strange feeling grows stronger as you step into the building. The floors are uniformly sloped, but the interior angles vary. The curtains hang vertically, the window frames are flattened into a parallelogram, and the sofa and table are partially corrected to their original horizontal position…the various angles are jumbled together, creating a feeling of vertigo.
‘Pub older than America’ lost
The Washington PostAccording to , the building was built in 1765 as a farmhouse. However, one side of the area sank due to coal mining, which flourished in the mid-19th century. It began attracting people as a pub around 1830, and until last year’s fire, it was a beloved local Black Country landmark. It was “a pub older than America (founded in 1776),” the article said.
I look back on the many memorable times I spent at this pub.Birmingham Mail newspaperAlison Brinkworth said: “The floor is slanted, so you feel like you’re drunk before you even walk through the door.” “One of the fun things regarding it was that the bar was at an angle, but the pints were held upright.” He talks regarding how to enjoy Crooked House.
The pub was previously run by brewer Marstons, but was sold to privately owned farm ATE Farms in July last year. Prior to the sale, Marston’s commented that it was unlikely to continue as a pub due to its age. An online signature campaign calling for its preservation has developed, with more than 37,000 people joining a Facebook page hoping for its survival.
Fire of unknown cause
However, on the evening of August 5, less than three weeks following the sale, the local fire department received a report of smoke rising. Despite efforts to extinguish the fire, the 258-year-old pub was reduced to rubble. The site was requested to be preserved in order to determine the cause of the fire, but ATE Farms demolished it without permission shortly following the fire was extinguished. Unauthorized demolition might also violate zoning laws.
The fire is suspected to be a suspicious fire, and some believe that the owner started the fire intentionally. Last August, the Washington Post reported that fire trucks from four fire departments rushed to the scene, but a 3m-high earthwork had been built on the road to the scene to prevent them from approaching. Firefighters used large-capacity pump trucks to spray water from a distance, and it took three days to extinguish the fire.
A later on-site inspection using sniffer dogs found evidence that a combustion accelerator had been used. Police have announced that they will treat the fire as arson. Three people involved were detained, but no charges were filed.
Brinkworth, a reporter for the Birmingham Mail, is furious at the suspicious fire that destroyed a “treasure of our history”, a pub he loved like an old friend.
A video of the incident, reported by Britain’s Daily Express, received comments from viewers praising the courage of parliament for issuing the rebuilding order. “This is a strong parliament.” “The parliament is strong. Fix what you’ve done. I like it!”
The rebuilding date is approximately three years from now. Will the promise be fulfilled and people’s memories of pubs revived?
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Video: Pub retains its sloping brick facade following fire.
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