'History ruined': Hundreds share sadness and anger at site of flattened Crooked House pub

Hundreds of people gathered at the demolished site where iconic pub, The Crooked House once stood, paying tribute and reminiscing about the good times spent at the Black Country gem.

Hundreds gathered tpo see what is left of the famous Crooked House pub. Photos: Sunil Midda.

Residents, locals and fans of the Crooked House pub gathered at the site on Tuesday after a large blaze left the Himley pub severely damaged on Saturday night.

Thousands of people shared their sadness after seeing the famous pub go up in flames but what they did not expect, was to see the pub then demolished less than 48 hours later, which has caused an outrage within the community and the wider area, with politicians such as Andy Street calling on the authorities to investigate.

Found buried under the rubble was the famouc golden C from The Crooked House

South Staffordshire Council has said the total destruction of iconic pub, after it was gutted by fire over the weekend, was wrongful, and that investigations into the cause of the blaze will continue.

Stu Hall, who said he took hold of the organising of the gathering on Tuesday evening, said: "I was planning on doing a gathering for this Sunday but now it has been knocked down, we decided to gather today.

"This pub meant so much to me. It meant so much to so many people, from around the Black Country and even as far as Australia, America and Canada.

"There are members in the Facebook group sharing their sadness and disbelief that The Crooked House is gone, and they are from those countries, and it just shows what a famous, unique place it was.

"I had been going there since the late 60s, where my parents first took me, and the continued to do so in the 1970s. Then as I grew up, I continued to go and eventually took my wife and children there too.

A large crowd gathered at the entrance to the pathway to The Crooked House

"It was always favourite spot to go."

Stu added: "When I first heard of the new of the sale and that the doors would be closed last week for one final time, I went to visit and took some photos and videos on Tuesday, August 1, but never did I think that just a week later, I would be back here and it would be nothing but rubble.

"It is a real great shame, and I was dreading walking down the path only to see a pile of bricks.

"It was such a rich part of the Black Country's history, and now it has tragically gone forever."

The gathering was organised in the Facebook group 'Save The Crooked House (Let's get it re-built)', which has almost 6,000 members.