Campaigners pushing for the Crooked House pub to be rebuilt have said they “won’t just let it die” on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed the famously wonky pub.
The Black Country alehouse, known for the optical illusions created by its lopsided stature, was gutted by a fire on 5 August last year, nine days after being sold to new owners.
The building was then completely demolished less than 48 hours later, prompting national outcry and numerous protests at the site.
The police later said they were treating the fire as arson, and arrested six people in connection with it. On Monday, they were all released from bail conditions and were instead “released under investigation”. No one has been charged.
The slow pace of criminal proceedings has frustrated campaigners pushing for the pub to be rebuilt, as the Planning Inspectorate appeal hearing, which will decide its ultimate fate, has been postponed while the criminal investigation is taking place.
“We just want to keep people interested, keep people believing. We can’t let it fizzle out,” said Paul Turner, one of the leading figures in the Save the Crooked House campaign group.
“There’s still a lot of naysayers who say, ‘Oh, it’ll never happen’. People get fed up and miserable about it because it hasn’t happened yet. We never expected it to happen overnight, we’ve got realistic expectations, but the negativity can spread.”
An event is taking place at nearby Himley Hall on Sunday for local people to gather and share their memories of the pub, with food and live music, and local people are constantly thinking of innovative ways to spread their message.
Himley resident Megan Wakeman has painted the pub, and its 64 individual window panes, on to hundreds of small rocks that campaigners leave in locations around the country – and around the world – for someone else to find and hide somewhere else.
They have reached as far afield as Nepal and the US.
“We’re always trying to think of things to keep it in the public eye. It’s really important we don’t just let it die,” said Turner. “Because I think that would be the aim of the owners, to delay it and delay it and delay it until everybody thinks, ‘I can’t be bothered with this any more’.”
The campaigners, part of a 37,000-member Facebook page dedicated to the cause, successfully ensured 25,000 bricks were salvaged from the site and stored in shipping containers, ready for a future rebuild.
But there are concerns about the degradation of the remaining foundations that are open to the elements, as well as safety concerns.
“People want to walk over and see it but it is very very dangerous. There’s a concrete floor with the cellars beneath and it could collapse,” said Turner. “We’re terrified about injuries, or a fatality. It really needs to be better secured.”
The pub’s owners, who are also connected to the landfill site next door, have appealed against the planning enforcement notice demanding they rebuild it in its original state, and have applied to build the pub at a different location.
Turner said most local people would not accept that. “Since 1765, it’s stood where it’s stood, it went crooked because of where it stood,” he said.
“Most people’s memories are of driving down that windy lane until you get to the bottom and that house comes into view. We’ll lose so much if it’s moved.
“We always knew it was going to be a long job. There are frustrations within the community. But we have to keep going one step at a time.”
