A Very Crooked Tale

 

One thing that really triggers me is those who think that money can elevate them above the law.  A case in point this week centres around a local quirky landmark - The Crooked House pub (dubbed by the press as "Britain's Wonkiest Pub").  As the dramatic events of the last 7 days have unfolded, this is shaping up to be a very crooked tale.

First, a little history for those unfamiliar with the site.

The pub was originally built as a farmhouse in 1765.  Subsequent mining in the Black Country region in the early 19th century caused one side to begin to sink giving the building its distinctive angle.

In the 1830s the property became a pub called The Glynne Arms after local landowner and part owner of Oak farm Iron and Brickworks, Sir Stephen Glynne (also the brother-in-law of Liberal politician William Gladstone.

Condemned in the 1940s, the pub was saved from demolition after work was undertaken on a buttress to help strengthen the structure.  However, by the early 1950s, the its future was still uncertain.

In 1957, the pub's then owners, The Wolverhampton and Dudley Brewery, spent £10,000 on repairs, safety measures and finally installing electricity.

Flames first threatened the pub in 1986; a fire resulting in damage necessitating a £360,000 facelift.

The pub began to be referred to as The Crooked House in 1900 as its quirky appeal gained traction...and so it began.  

This pub is part of the Black Country heritage.  Everyone in this part of the world will have childhood memories of this place.  I recall the excitement of glimpsing The Crooked House at the end of a seemingly endless winding lane and experiencing the thrill of seeing a marble roll uphill inside.  You don't believe me?  See for yourself.

Marbles Roll Uphill At Crooked Pub - YouTube

The pub was put up for sale by Marston's PLC after a review in 2021 and finally closed its doors in March this year.

It was sold in July this year as a going concern for £675,000 to a buyer based in Warwickshire (ATE Farms Ltd) - far enough away from the Black Country.  It transpires that said buyer also owns the 15 hectare quarry and landfill site next to the pub.  Notably, the landfill site is now being developed with permission being sought to develop another part of the land.  Access might be an issue.  Doubtless it would aid that access if the pub wasn't there.  Still with me?

Incidentally, a "burglary" took place in June this year.  The burglars didn't rifle through drawers and cupboard, but instead set about smashing up the kitchen and toilets.  Doesn't that strike you as odd?

Back to the present.  On Sunday morning, we awoke to the news that the pub had been gutted by fire on Saturday night.  Mounds of earth blocking access to the pub had slowed the Fire Service's efforts to tackle the blaze.

The Black Country reacted angrily, calling "arson."  The police launched an investigation and the press descended.

Still reeling from this news, two days later, a digger operator appeared on site and proceeded to demolish the building.  Bear in mind this was in the midst of a police investigation into the cause of the fire.

Locals flocked to the site demanding answers.  The Council claimed that they had agreed for safety reasons, that the building be taken down partially - only the upper floor.  Clearly this instruction had been ignored.  There were also allegations of the digger being given rear access to the pub.  By whom you may ask?

To further rub salt into the wound, Historic England has confirmed that the pub was being explored to be listed, after the organisation received a request in July.

It didn't take long for the owner's name to be published in the press.  She is unsurprisingly refusing all requests for an interview.  Having married into money, she and her husband appear to have form.  Reports have stated that they bought and gutted another pub in recent years.

These were the last photos I took of the pub, back in 2019.

We visited the site yesterday.  There was a police presence and we were politely asked if we could return a little later (there is a public right of way running up to the pub) as the sniffer dog was in action and they needed to keep the site clear.  Whilst chatting to the policemen, they confirmed that this was the strangest case they had worked on and pointed out that the news had now gone international; a CBS news crew were standing to our left.

On our return, I took photos of the site in its current state.  

Press are ever present...and long may it continue.  As long as all eyes are on this story, hopefully the powers that be will ensure a thorough investigation and all legal options will be explored.

It was truly devastating to see a building holding such memories and importance in the lives of a community reduced to a pile of rubble.

We weren't alone, mourners, souvenir hunters and local musicians were amongst the visitors to the site, including a group enjoying a final drink outside the pub.

There was palpable anger from visitors at the audacity of the people behind this wilful destruction.

Unrelated headlines, but isn't money at the centre of everything these days?

We took a final (for now - let's not begin speaking of this in the past tense) look at the small pub garden, still blooming and intact.

Back in the car park, the steel bracing frame - some distance from the building - looked far from unsafe to our untrained eyes.  No doubt when the digger grabbed hold of this, the building was doomed.

Discarded chairs were piled up in a far corner of the site...for how long I wonder?  I gently tried to dissuade souvenir hunters, as I, like the West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, would like to see those responsible made to rebuild this brick by brick.  I fear it might never happen, but have joined the campaign group in any event.

I abhor the way money talks and blind eyes are turned.  Ways around planning laws are found and individuals make calculated decisions, carrying out dubious actions fully prepared and able to pay off resulting fines.  Really, this has to stop. Hands off our heritage!

The lane approach is not always picturesque, with its landfill site entrance and derelict bridges once used to carry mineral railways from nearby collieries, but Britain is renowned for quirky, interesting buildings such as this.  Take them away and what are we left with?  Soulless big enterprises and uniform, characterless boxes serving as houses.

As we walked back down the lane, evidence of the owners determination to develop the site, maintain access points for their diggers and lack of care for aesthetics was clear.

The latest?  Arson has been confirmed.  A petition to rebuild the pub has 7,000 plus signatures.  You can add yours here if you feel so inclined.

Petition · Save The Crooked House · Change.org

Reports I have seen have already tentatively suggested that to rebuild the pub would be difficult and expensive.  But not impossible, surely?  This week Mayor Andy Street said:  "We will not let the Crooked House be consigned to history."  Hope springs eternal.

Black Country Colour and Culture

Saturday's excursion to a Shropshire market town to meet my screenplay contact in person for the first time, was thoroughly enjoyable, although Sarah and I had to abandon our meeting after an hour, due to the great British weather, which insisted on precipitating all over us and my notes.  We were both on the same page - literally (we met to read through my treatment over a coffee) - and figuratively in terms of avoiding the insides of drinking establishments.

In other news, our son had attended a bowling party and had received notification that one of the girls had later tested positive for Covid, so 10 days of isolation for him - not that it's much of a deterrent for a teenager.  Ten days confined to the your bedroom with mobile phone and gaming pc?  The horror!  For the record, we didn't insist he remain in his bedroom - he just prefers it that way as our company, conversation, TV choices and humour are just intolerable.

To be on the safe side, we decided to abandon a planned visit to Chastleton House, as we had arranged to share a car with a couple of old timers and we're still being cautious.  We may all be double jabbed, but I wouldn't knowingly put someone at risk of catching Covid, in exactly the same way that I wouldn't inflict a bad cold or bout of flu on another.

Instead of galivanting around the UK, we focused again on the garden, cutting back the ivy which has been gradually encroaching on the patio area, covering everything in its path....including not one, but two rat bikes (show props).

   This is what it looked like before....

....and now.  No huge difference, but more space and a big reveal of our curious stone head (I wondered where he'd got to).

Having tidied the area, I decided to plant Mexican Fleabane in the chimney pots.

My recent blog was all about pink.  This time, the focus was firmly on blue.  The hydrangeas are in flower.   We have two blue ones in slightly different shades, courtesy of variations in the soil?  

I also managed to get my hands on one of the elusive blue tinged geraniums from Ashwood Nurseries.  It's planted by the rusty dwarves and I'm hoping it will spread everywhere like its pink relative.

I planted another couple of evergreen ferns to take hold in the shade of the Magnolia tree...

...and treated myself to this very showy French Hydrangea, now illuminating the top of the garden beneath the woodland canopy.  I picked the one with the tallest shoots and am willing it to reach its 5-6 foot optimum growth as soon as.

Meanwhile, Gareth tackled the wisteria busy claiming the guttering at the side of the house, which was all fine and dandy until he disturbed a wasps' nest and descended the ladder at warp speed, swearing his head off.  They might be the thugs of the insect world, but they create beautiful homes.  Here's one I photographed in a hedgerow a couple of weeks ago.

We decided to give Dr Jones (our illustrated mannequin and work of local artist, Yvette) a dose of vitamin D and showed him our handiwork.  Yvette's Instagram moniker is @creative_curiosities.  You can view her work here yvette appleby (@creative_curiosities) • Instagram photos and videos.  Yvette kindly allowed us to take Dr Jones to our first trading show and he was such a hit and - very weirdly - became part of the family.  For a few weeks, he sat, brooding (he tends to do that) in our front room.  Eventually I got used to him and stopped jumping out of my skin every time I entered the room.  We also grew to like him.  He's really no trouble and is easy on the eye, if not the best conversationalist.  We therefore struck a deal with Yvette and he lives with us.  We launched an online competition to name him and so, to give him his full title, please allow me to introduce you to Dr Edwin Jones.  

We also squeezed in a walk around the lake within the 180-acre parkland of Himley Hall, a beautiful 18th century house and one time home to the Earls of Dudley with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown.  

Himley Hall is only around 3 miles from our house, but the walk would take us along a busy road, so we opted to park in a nearby side street to shorten the less interesting leg of the journey.  This shortened walk took us past another property of historical significance - Holbeche House, central to the Gunpowder Plot.  Allegedly there are visible bullet holes in the exterior walls.  It's now a nursing home, which I think is a real shame.  I would love to have a closer look.  As it stands, I only have TV adaptations to help me visualise Catesby and co. drying out their gunpowder in front of a roaring fire with disastrous consequences.  For the record, quite a bit of work went into this image.  I have removed several sleeping policemen, a car and some distracting care home signage from his photo.  The lengths I go to!

There was a mini show on at Himley on the day we visited, just visible from across the boating lake in this moody photo.

Spot the moorhen amongst the lily pads.

Another historic Black Country attraction has taken up residence in the grounds at Himley Hall.  Matthew Jones & Sons' Victorian Fairground has been in the same family for five generations and was, until recently, located at the Black Country Living Museum.  I couldn't resist the chance to snap the fair during a rainy set-up and Matthew ushered me through the barrier gate to get some shots.

From wet fairgrounds to Wolves - specifically a visit to the city's Art Gallery (with a few photo stops on the way).  Here's an intentional camera movement abstract take on the Art Deco frontage of the once booming department store Beatties, which sadly closed its doors for good after 140 years of trading in Wolverhampton in 2020.

Some local graffiti or "a graffito" as my father-in-law recently pointed out to me.

This has to be the coolest pub in Wolverhampton.  We spent a good night holed up inside after a stand up comedy show some years ago.  Gareth sat next to Peep Show's Isy Suttie as I recall.

Once inside the gallery, we were greeted by this impressive sculpture,

and spotted this incredible hand crafted Russian doll made from a pine cone,

before making our escape after being menaced by King Kong in the Pop Art Fantasy World exhibition.

Don't have nightmares!

Oh, and I bagged this blue-ish matching Adini top and skirt for a fiver.  

How's your week been?