Firsts there was fire, then demolition, but for the people of the Black Country the story of the Crooked House is far from over
Traditionally, there have always been three must-see attractions in the area surrounding Dudley, in the West Midlands. One is Dudley Castle, which has loomed over the town in one form or another for almost a millennium, and now includes a zoo. The second is the Black Country Living Museum, which preserves the rich culture of the region for future generations.
“And the third is the Crooked House – those are the three,” says Lisa Newton, a fitness instructor who has lived in the area all her life. She pauses and corrects herself. “The third was the Crooked House… But now look at it. What’s left of it.”
This week, for unfortunate reasons, the Crooked House in Himley, also known as the Siden House (“siden” meaning “crooked” in the Black Country dialect), was the only place to be in the Dudley area. The 260-year-old building – a pub in various guises since the 1830s, famous far and wide for being left on a 16-degree wonk by subsidence – caught fire last Saturday night, weeks after it had been sold by Marston’s Brewery to private buyers ATE Farms.
As flames licked through the red brick structure, the efforts of West Midlands Fire Service were frustrated by vast mounds of earth blocking the only access road. Crews were eventually forced to use 40 lengths of hose to reach the pub from hundreds of metres away. Despite this, they managed to prevent the building being entirely razed.