Arson arrests made over Crooked House pub fire

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of arson over a fire which ripped through the Crooked House pub in Dudley.

A 66-year-old man from Dudley and a 33-year-old man from Milton Keynes are being questioned over the blaze.

“Britain’s wonkiest” pub was set alight on 5 August and its demolition two days after the blaze by new owners prompted criticism from the local community, as an investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing.

The pub, which was originally built in 1765, was sold by Marstons to a “private buyer for alternative use” and was “unlikely to open its doors again”.

South Staffordshire Council is also investigating potential breaches of both the Town and Country Planning Act and the Buildings Act after the building was demolished.

The pub, originally a farmhouse in 1765, began to sink on one side due to mining activity in the area and was named The Siden House in 1930, with siden meaning crooked in Black Country dialect. 

In the 1940s, it was set for demolition due to safety concerns, but the Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries purchased the site and added buttresses to make the structure safe. It’s been known as The Crooked House ever since.