'Wonky pub' just minutes from Crooked House torched in suspected arson attack

Another historical "wonky pub" has gone up in flames in a suspected arson attack - and it is located just a few minutes from the now-demolished Crooked House.

The 500-year-old Greyhound and Punchbowl pub was torched after fire gutted its interior on Saturday morning. The Grade 2 listed building - which has bendy exterior beams - is just a short 13-minute drive away from the now-demolished Crooked House pub that burned down.

Firefighters rushed to the historical building in Bilston at around 3.40am on Saturday morning to tackle the blaze. Footage from the fire shows flames blasting out one of the downstairs windows while members of the public watched helplessly.

West Midlands Fire Service confirmed the building was unsafe to enter on Saturday. The fire was put out by 5.20am but over a quarter of the first floor suffered fire damage, while all three floors were smoke-damaged.

The Greyhound and Punchbowl pub was torched in the early hours of Saturday (Birmingham Post and Mail)

The historic pub is thought to have been built in 1450 as a manor house before it was reopened with a license sometime between 1774-1820. It underwent a thorough restoration in the 1930s when a concrete skin was added to the timber frame for longevity.

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Locals said they were left devastated after the fire ripped through the ground floor of the pub. Ivan Addiss, 73, said a big part of Bilston had been lost. He said: "Unfortunately another big part of Bilston is gone, the Greyhound. It's been around for a long, long time and it's just another part of Bilston gone.

"There's not much of the old Bilston left now. That's literally been around for hundreds of years, it was the manor house as well. But things change and it looks like some moron has probably thrown a petrol bomb through the window or something. Hopefully they might rebuild it, you never know. Inside there's a lot of wood paneling and old fireplaces, and the wood paneling was fantastic."

Andrew Mason, 59, from Wednesbury, said: "I was in there not so long ago, it’s beautiful with all the wooden paneling. Let’s hope they restore it to its original glory and what happened to the Crooked House doesn’t happen again."

Marik Bahra, 60, used to go to the pub three to four times a week and said he liked it as they had mostly cheap drinks. Marik, who has drunk at the pub since the 70s, said: "It's an old building so most likely an electrical fault. Very much a locals pub and he was supposed to be going today."

Firefighters at the scene of the fire (Billy Babu)

A police investigation is ongoing (Billy Babu)

West Midlands Police said in a statement: "We are continuing our enquiries into a suspected arson attack at the Greyhound and Punchbowl in Bilston. Officers are carrying out CCTV and door to door enquiries to find out more about the circumstances of how the fire started.

"We were called shortly after 4am on 30 September to support West Midlands Fire Service, who believed the fire had been started deliberately. We are hoping anyone who was in the area may have seen more, so anyone with further information can contact us via LiveChat or 101 quoting log 585 of 30 September."

This week, Staffordshire Police arrested two more people as their investigation into the fire at the Crooked House pub continues. On Wednesday, a 34-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man from Leicestershire, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent or being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

They were released on bail while the investigation continues. The 66-year-old man, the 51-year-old man, and the 33-year-old man, who were previously arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, remain on conditional police bail at this time. Anyone who might have information on the incident is still being asked to get in touch with the police.

The Crooked House pub in Himley, Staffordshire, prior to the fire (SWNS)

The famously wonky pub in Himley, Staffordshire, burned down in a fire on August 5, less than two weeks after being sold by the pub company Marston's to ATE Farms Limited. The whole building was then demolished less than 48 hours later, with South Staffordshire council later saying it was investigating planning breaches as it had not "agreed to the demolition of the whole structure".