Fury has erupted after the remains of Britain’s wonkiest pub were ‘left to rot’ for two years after it was destroyed in a fire.
The Crooked House, in the village of Himley, Staffordshire, was gutted after a suspected arson attack in August 2023 – two years ago this week.
The rest of the 18th-century building was demolished without permission less than 48 hours later by owners ATE Farms, who had bought it just nine days before the blaze.
The historic boozer had become well-known across the country for its quirky tilted appearance, caused by the land sinking on one side due to local mining activity.
South Staffordshire district council last year ordered the firm to rebuild the 260-year-old protected tavern within three years.
But in February, ATE launched an appeal against the enforcement notice, with a hearing in March postponed until the criminal investigation into the fire has finished.
While the furore drags on, the site of the Black Country alehouse, near Dudley, has become a ‘decaying dumping ground’.
Campaigners say it has gone to ‘absolute ruin’, becoming a hotspot for fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.
Shocking photos show huge piles of fridges, mattresses, bin liners, children’s toys and tyres have been dumped along the lane leading to the West Midlands site.
Destroyed fences lay abandoned after landslips caused them to come down – while drugs paraphernalia can also be seen littering the area.
Residents have blasted the ‘scandalous lack of action’ 24 months on from the fire which destroyed ‘a national treasure’.
Pub regular Martin Eley, 49, of Himley, said: ‘To see the site now is heartbreaking. It is just in a state of ruin and nobody has done anything about it.
‘The place was once home to one of the UK’s most unique pubs – now it is a decaying dumping ground.
‘It is scandalous that is has been allowed to happen. Nothing has been done and something needs to change as it will only get worse.
‘The longer this goes on like this, the less chance there is of it ever being rebuilt.’
Paul Baker, 61, who had been going to the pub since he was 15, said: ‘I’ve lived in the area all my life and I came here with my parents.
‘And then later in life, we’d have a great time. So many memories, it’s been part of my life. I cannot believe it’s gone, I’m devastated.
‘It’s a shame something so nice has just disappeared from the land.
‘It’s something that you thought you would never see. This should have been here forever, it was a national treasure.
‘There will never be another one like it, even if they rebuild it, it wouldn’t be the same but I hope they do.’
A Facebook group called Save The Crooked House now has a whopping more than 37,500 members.
Its plight and that of other heritage pubs illegally bulldozed have now been brought up in Parliament a number of times.
Group member Paul Turner said he and fellow campaigners are also worried about the roads around the site, which have been damaged by landslips and a brook running under them.
He said: ‘The aim has always been and continues to be to get the Crooked House re-built brick by brick.
‘But at the moment, two years on, we are worried about the safety of the area immediately in front of it…
‘We want answers as to who will pick up the responsibility for the site before anything can be done about re-building the pub.’
But the future of the site has been continually thrown into doubt since the devastating blaze two years ago.
A company linked to the ex-owner of the site went bust in April with eye-watering debts of £1.2million.
Himley Environmental Ltd (HEL), which owns a landfill site next to the pub, listed George Adam Taylor as director and shareholder.
He controls ATE Farms, the firm which bought The Crooked House just before it burned down.
At the time of the blaze, the landfill was said to be connected to a ongoing ‘feud’ with pub bosses over access to the site.
It was put into voluntary liquidation after it was taken to court for failing to follow orders from the Environment Agency (EA).
Kingswinford and South Staffordshire MP Mike Wood has also raised concerns about the safety of the now messy site.
Speaking in Parliament in July, he said: ‘The lane is a public right of way but access is now difficult due to the massive amount of fly tipping.
‘It is encouraging to see a secure gate has been put up to try and prevent further incidents.
‘But I am very worried about the brook issue which is making the path dangerous, and also the offensive smell in the area.
‘Two years on, we continue to fight for The Crooked House to be re-built and are trying to put pressure on the authorities over the legal process, which seems to be dragging along.
‘But in the meantime it is important that the site remains fit for purpose when it potentially is re-built.’
He said he would write to the Environment Agency and county council with hopes of urgently securing a site visit and meeting with them.
ATE Farms’ appeal against being order to rebuild the pub has been delayed until after the police investigation into the suspected arson has finished.
It means campaigners wrote to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in May, urging them to decide whether those under investigation for it will be charged.
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: ‘The six people that were arrested have been released from bail and are now released under investigation.
‘Our investigation is ongoing and a file has been submitted to the CPS.’
The CPS confirmed it has received a file of evidence from the force in relation to the fire.
South Staffordshire Council said in a statement it ‘remained committed’ to resolving the matter.
Just before the devastating blaze, The Crooked House had been sold by brewer Marston’s to ATE Farms, after being listed for sale for £675,000.
ATE Farms was controlled at the time by glamorous former nail technician Carly Taylor but is now run by her husband Mr Taylor, after she resigned as director in December 2023.
A relative told the Daily Mail Mrs Taylor used to run her own beauty business in the town of Lutterworth, Leicestershire, but had since become used to ‘living the high life’.
The family member added: ‘She seems to go here there and everywhere, judging by Facebook.’
Pictures on social media showed Mrs Taylor driving a Bentley, flying first class and posing outside the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.
Gary Timmins, pubs and clubs director for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), said the developer’s appeal threatened to make a ‘complete mockery’ of Britain’s planning system.
‘The appeal requested by the owners of the Crooked House, ATE Farms Limited, was expected but no less insulting,’ he said in February.
‘Accountability must be taken for the complete destruction of this iconic pub and this hearing undermines South Staffordshire Council’s enforcement notice to rebuild it.
‘The Crooked House in Himley was destroyed more than 18 months ago and this appeal delays a much-needed outcome.
‘The UK’s wonkiest pub needs to be rebuilt, back to what it was prior to the fire, as ordered by South Staffordshire Council.
‘If this appeal leads to this decision being reversed, it would be a complete mockery of pub protection and campaigning efforts from the local community.’
‘The Crooked House saga lifted the lid on the wider scandal of potentially unlawful pub conversions and demolitions across the UK and we continue to demand tighter, stronger planning policies and a requirement in law to rebuild pubs brick-by-brick.’
The pub had been on the Historic Environment Record as a building of local importance.
The council’s notice to rebuild it requires the structure ‘to be built back to what it was prior to the fire’ and specifies the materials to be used to do this.
West Midlands mayor Andy Street has previously praised the council’s work on this on X.
He wrote: ‘An enforcement notice has been issued against the owners for its unlawful demolition.
‘They have been ordered to rebuild the pub back to what it was before the fire – just as we’ve been lobbying for. Fantastic work from South Staffordshire Council.’
The decision came weeks after Mrs Taylor resigned from her position as director of ATE Farms Limited on December 15, 2023.
Documents submitted as part of the firm’s appeal against the order to rebuild reveal its intention to rebuild the pub on another piece of land its owns.
They also plan other developments to ‘increase footfall’.
It states: ‘The appellant has not refused to rebuild the building and has actively engaged with the council regarding this.
‘Requiring a re-build in the same location, whilst reflective of popular opinion, will not change the fact that the building in that location is not viable as a public house.
‘For this reason, the appellant has put forward a sustainable, and what it sees as a genuine and practical solution to the issue, to the council that it rebuild the building on other land that it owns, to operate as a public house, with other development to increase footfall and give the pub and the building a real chance of success as a community asset.
‘The proposal locates a newly-constructed Crooked House pub along with appropriate parking and landscaping further north off Crooked House Lane and as near to the highway junction with the Himley Road as would allow.’
The document also revealed why the owners claim the former pub had to be fully demolished, after council officers agreed only to three elements of it being removed to make the gutted site safe.
It said after council officers left the site, there were further issues: ‘It had not been foreseen that removal of the three elements instructed would render the remainder of the building unsafe.’
The document adds: ‘Removal of the upper sections of the building took with it the steel tie ins which rendered the remaining structure, in the contractor’s opinion, completely unsafe and at a high (and unacceptable risk) of collapse.
‘The council officers had left the land and a quick decision had to be made.
‘The situation on the land was such that, due to the amount of media attention and public attendance, a decision had to be taken quickly as to the immediate safety of the building.
‘A decision was made with reference to the director of the appellant that in order to abate the risk, the mainstay of the remaining structure needed to be taken down.
‘It was considered that there was a high risk of the building collapsing and causing serious injury or a fatality on the land given the entry on to the land by large numbers of people some of whom were conducting vigils and others removing bricks and other items as memorabilia/ for sale.’
There are also plans to build an education centre in the area, incorporating displays on local history, as well as retirement lodges in the existing woodland.
It adds: ‘In this regard, the appellant is in the process of preparing a detailed pre-application to be put to the council (and neighbouring authorities).’
ATE Farms has been contacted for comment.
