Campaigners continue the fight two years after Crooked House fire

On the second anniversary of the fire which destroyed The Crooked House pub in Himley, campaigners are asking you to 'raise a toast' towards its rebuild.

Known as 'Britain's wonkiest pub', a fire - treated as Arson by Staffordshire Police - gutted the building in the evening of 5th August 2023, and saw fire appliances unable to get to the structure after they found an 8-foot tall mound of earth blocking their path.

Two days later, on August 7th, the pub was demolished. Six people were arrested in connection with the incident, on charges including suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. They were subsequently released on bail.

South Staffordshire Council has since issued an enforcement notice, requiring the landowner - ATE Farms Ltd - to reinstate the building as it was before demolition, using bricks reclaimed from the site and stored in storage containers, within a three-year period.

ATE Farms Ltd lodged an appeal against the order, proposing to rebuild the pub on an alternative site nearby as the former location would not provide 'a sustainable community facility'. A public inquiry was then set to decide the outcome of the standoff, but that inquiry has been delayed.

Following the demolition, locals set up an online campaign group which has since attracted almost 38,000 members. The 'Save The Crooked House' group are using the second anniversary of the fire to ask local people to toast the Crooked House and post a selfie on social media. The project, supported by CAMRA, kicked off yesterday and has already seen a number of photos posted.

Paul Turner, from Wombourne near Wolverhampton, has been fighting for the pub to be rebuilt since the campaign began. He said: "The Facebook group has grown massively and now has members from all over the world.

"We're not giving up. The intention is to get it rebuilt; we owe it to people.

"This is a marathon, not a sprint. We're confident that we can keep on going and get this done."

South Staffordshire Council said it "remained committed" to resolving the matter and any further updates would be added on its website.

Anybody who wants to post a selfie raising a toast - of anything - to The Crooked House can do so online, either on the Toast The Crooked House Facebook Group, or by using #AToastToTheCrookedHouse on their own social media.