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News
Crooked House should be ‘rebuilt brick by brick’
Following the fire at infamous Black Country establishment The Crooked House earlier this week, the former pub has been demolished, causing alarm in the local community.
Major for the West Midlands Andy Street has demanded that The Crooked House be rebuilt ‘brick by brick’ and the local council has described the demolition of the structure as “unacceptable”.
We’ve asked @south_staffs to ensure the Crooked House Pub is rebuilt brick by brick, & any attempt to change its use blocked @alex__claridge & I have also asked to be kept informed of the Fire & Police’s investigation
We will not let the Crooked House be consigned to history pic.twitter.com/OPAHjqGbyY
— Andy Street (@andy4wm) August 8, 2023
Local MP Gavin Williamson MP also wrote on Twitter that he was requesting information as soon as possible.
I share the concerns and frustration of residents regarding the Crooked House – particularly in relation to recent developments.
I will be urging Staffordshire Police, Staffordshire Fire, and the District Council to meet with me and establish the facts as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/NbROuY8Lcj
— Sir Gavin Williamson MP (@GavinWilliamson) August 8, 2023
Council officers visited the site on Monday and agreed a programme of works with a representative of the land-owner, according to the council leader Roger Lees, but “at no point” did it agree to a demolition of the whole structure or deem it necessary.
Lees added: “The council is incredibly saddened by the loss of the building which, whilst not listed, was a heritage asset and important landmark to the local area and community.”
Last night (Tuesday 8 August) there was a peaceful protest at the site with the former landlord drinking a pint of Bank’s Bitter atop the rubble.
Hundreds turned up at the site of the cherished landmark #TheCrookedHouse this evening for a peaceful protest. Upset, angry, confused. How could this have been allowed to happen? A former landlord sat atop the rubble to drink his final pint of Banks’s Bitter.
— Roger Protz (@RogerProtzBeer) August 8, 2023
It follows a fire at the Grade II-listed building that was formerly The Crooked House pub caught fire on Saturday night, just weeks after being sold by Marston’s Brewery to a private buyer.
db reported only last week that the skew-whiff Midlands boozer had been sold to the buyer after being on the market since March. It was not revealed how the buyer intended to develop the site, but it was “unlikely to open its doors again” as a pub, it was reported. On 29 July, a Change.org petition to “save” The Crooked House Pub was set up – at the time of writing it has 6,300 signatories.
But over the weekend disaster struck as a fire broke out, consuming the 18th century farmhouse that had been a pub since the 1940s. Six crews, from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue and West Midlands Fire Service, came to tackle the blaze just after 10pm.
One social media account has claimed that the lanes leading up to the site of the pub were blocked, preventing fire engines from reaching it quickly.
The news follows the Carlton Tavern case in London almost a decade ago, which was rebuilt brick by brick after an illegal demolition by the developer who bought the pub.