UK's new 'wonkiest pub' where 'pool balls roll upward' fails to sell at auction

26 October 2023 , 08:21

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Pub regular Carl Falconer in front of The Tilted Barrel (Image: Anita Maric / SWNS)

A pub that was crowned the wonkiest in the UK after a devastating fire destroyed the Crooked House over the summer was put up for sale for £178,000 - but failed to sell at auction.

The Tilted Barrel on High Street, Princes End, Tipton, West Midlands, went under the hammer on Wednesday but the auction was not a successful one. The auctioneer initially asked to start with a bid of £180,000 but after being met with silence, he reduced it to £170,000.

But that amount also failed to raise any interest, so he then put it down to £160,000. At that point, someone raised their hand and bidding went up to £165,000 and £170,000. However, interest stopped when the auction asked for £172,000 and the property was categorised as unsold.

The pub failed to sell at auction (Anita Maric / SWNS)

Before bidding began, the auctioneer explained that the first floor of the pub is used as accommodation, and added that stairs leading to a second floor are boarded, but the floor the potential to be developed. The slanted pub, wonky due to mining subsidence in the 1800s, was taken on by new landlady Haych Mann in February this year. The 38-year-old spent months refurbishing the inside of the 200-year-old boozer, but admitted there had been teething problems with her new venture.

One issue was being forced to move the pool table to another bar after the bizarre building caused the balls to appear to roll uphill. Speaking after the Tilted Barrel took over the moniker of 'Britain's wonkiest pub' following the Crooked House fire on August 5, she said: "It's a bittersweet moment. Most of our regulars drank in the Crooked House too.

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"I'm a local girl so I knew the pub well and we have lost an iconic pub in the Crooked House. So I'm both sad and proud at the same time to learn we might now have that title. It's certainly not something I'm celebrating as the Crooked House was a landmark and a piece of Black Country history."

It is a Grade II listed building (Anita Maric / SWNS)

Ms Haych said she fell in love with the quirky features of the pub, as she explained: "I just fell in love with the place. It was just really unique and quirky. It was a bit run down when I took it over, I couldn't believe people were drinking in here in the state it was in but at the same time I thought it was brilliant.

"We've had a refurb and business is picking up as people have read about us online. I looked at a few pubs, which were probably nicer, but this one was different and it really appealed to me.

"I wouldn't usually take over a pub which was doing badly but this one just seemed special and I thought 'why not?'. The pool table was hard to play on, they built a stage to keep the balls running straight but because of the slanted walls it was a bit disorientating. So we have moved it into the back room but I'm keeping the darts board where it is. That's because our darts team hardly lose. They know how to play on the slant but when other teams play it can really throw players off.

The Tilted Barrel went under the hammer on October 25 (Anita Maric / SWNS)

"We have two staff working here and I help out on weekends when it's busier too. This is my first pub and I really enjoy it. It's just the floors in the back room that need doing now. But that's proving a challenge because of the slanted floor. However, we're getting there and I'm looking forward to what the future holds for this other historic crooked pub."

Ahead of the auction, potential new owners were warned it would be unlikely that they could alter the building's appearance due to its Grade II listing status. The agent's description read: "An opportunity to purchase a famous Black Country Public House, known as The Tilted Barrel comprising of a Grade II Listed two-storey detached premises of brick construction surmounted by a pitched slate clad roof, prominently situated at the junction of High Street and Parkes Lane.

"The property was constructed circa mid-1800s and was affected by mining subsidence at an early stage, resulting in the pubs recognisable crooked appearance and it is well documented in the media that since the recent demise of The Crooked House pub at Himley, the Tilted Barrel is regarded as the most crooked public house in the UK."

Mr Falconer has been going to the pub for 40 years since he was a young boy (Anita Maric / SWNS)

Pub regular Carl Falconer, 46, a plasterer from Tipton, has been going to the pub for 40 years since he was a young boy. The dad-of-one told Birmingham Live: "It's a great pub. It's very family orientated and everybody knows everybody. I'm used to its wonkiness now.

"But I imagine anyone who walks in there for the first time will think 'wow this is crazy'. I've been going since I was a young boy with my dad as it's on my doorstep. Way back when it used to have massive steel girders propping it up.

"The building itself goes back to the 19th century I believe but it started to drop in the 1930s. It now sits naturally as this strange angle. The funniest part is the darts teams who come here. The floor used to be much more slanted but it's still on a slope now.

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"When you threw a dart - you'd have to walk downhill to fetch it from the board. Away teams hated it so they tried levelling the floor off a bit but we still have the advantage. It's got all these quirky features. I've also got to take my hat off to the tiler who did the tiles in the wonky gents toilet as those cuts could not have been easy."

Chiara Fiorillo