Married couple face questions after 18th Century boozer dubbed ‘Britain’s wonkiest pub’ was destroyed by fire and then demolished
- Carly Taylor, 34, and her husband Adam, 44, have owned the pub since July
- The historic Black Country pub was devastated by a fire and then demolished
A married couple are facing questions after an 18th Century ale house was destroyed by fire and then demolished days after they bought it.
The Crooked House – dubbed ‘Britain’s wonkiest pub’ – was severely damaged in the blaze over the weekend before being reduced to a pile of rubble on Monday.
Video shows diggers moved in to knock down what was left of the historic Black Country pub within hours of Staffordshire police and firefighters leaving the site.
The force is investigating the cause of the blaze while South Staffordshire Council has said its lawyers are looking into potential breaches of the Town and Planning Act after the Crooked House was demolished.
Police said in a statement that they were investigating ‘all of the available evidence into the cause’ of the fire in tandem with Stafford Fire and Rescue and that as of yet no cause of the fire had been established.
A married couple are facing questions after an 18th Century ale house was destroyed by fire and then demolished days after they bought it. Pictured: The remains of the pub today
The Crooked House – dubbed ‘Britain’s wonkiest pub’ – was severely damaged in the blaze over the weekend before being reduced to a pile of rubble on Monday
The authority said officers had visited the site in Himley, near Dudley, on Monday but had not agreed to ‘the demolition of the whole structure’ or deemed that it was necessary.
Police said detectives would be speaking to the new owners of the pub, which was sold by Marston’s Brewery in July to ATE Farms Limited, a company controlled by Carly Taylor, 34. It had been listed for sale for £675,000.
Mrs Taylor is married to Adam, 44, who is shareholder and former director of Himley Environmental Ltd which runs a land fill site next to the pub.
A source told the Daily Mail the purchase was ‘all about access’ and followed disagreements between the firm and Marston’s over an access road to the pub which they shared.
Himley Environmental’s director Richard Longley could not be reached for comment. Mr Taylor declined to comment when approached at his home in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, yesterday.
A blaze at the Black Country’s most iconic pub, the Crooked House, engulfed the building
People inspect the rubble remains of The Crooked House near Dudley on Tuesday
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