Express & Star

Black Country man's Crooked House postcards show fascinating glimpse of iconic pub's history

Around a dozen historic postcards depicting scenes from the Crooked House have found a home in 82-year-old Harry Houghton's personal collection in Kingswinford.

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Harry Houghton, aged 82, from Kingswinford, has over 150 postcards of the Black Country, around a dozen of which are very old postcards of the Crooked House

Mr Houghton has spent years amassing around 150 Black Country postcards – some of which show the wonky pub in its heyday.

His oldest postcard dates back to 1903.

The pub in Himley was demolished following a devastating fire last August, but it is still very much alive in the postcard scenes showing its quirky character.

Harry Houghton, aged 82, from Kingswinford, has over 150 postcards of the Black Country, around a dozen of which are very old postcards of the Crooked House

"I've had them about 30 or 40 years. I've enjoyed them," Mr Houghton said.

"Every now and again I dig them out, have a read through them and I can read something new I haven't read before. I'm quite proud of them."

It started with him picking up some postcards from a shop in Bewdley but his collection grew from visiting places around the country.