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It stood for 257 years and became affectionately known as Britain’s “wonkiest pub” but two weeks after it was sold to a private company the historic Crooked House pub has been reduced to a mound of rubble.

Now locals want answers as to what happened to the Crooked House pub, in the UK’s West Midlands that was gutted in a fire on the weekend before being suddenly demolished by its new owners in a possible breach of local council regulations.

The Crooked House pub, which dates back to 1765, before it was reduced to rubble.Credit: AAP

Built in 1765, the former farmhouse in Himley, Staffordshire was a popular tourist stop for its quirky structure – sinking on one side due to local mining subsidence, giving it the unique feature of a bar where coins appeared to roll uphill.

The building became a public house about 1830. By 1940 the structure was deemed unsafe and headed for demolition before local breweries stepped in to buttress the building and protect its lopsided appearance.

After the building was sold to new owners for an unspecified “alternative use” last month, a local petition was launched to save the pub.

“It will be a tragedy if this wonderful tourist attraction is lost …to demolish it and use the site for another purpose would mean the loss of this iconic and beautiful building,” read the petition, which attracted more than 12,500 signatures.

Local media reports suggest it was one of more than 60 pubs being sold off by Marston’s PLC, a major UK brewing and pub retail business. The pub sold in late July after it was listed for sale with a guide price of about $1.3 million.

People inspect the rubble remains of The Crooked House pub in Himley, near Dudley in the West Midlands, which has been demolished two days after it was gutted by fire.Credit: AAP

It was less than two weeks after the sale was announced that the blaze ripped through the building.

A Facebook page for the former pub posted a statement shortly after the fire, lamenting the loss of the heritage site.

“So after 10 months of hard work very long hours and constant obstacles it’s quite annoying to see your place of business end up like this … time effort gone, money gone, and one of the greatest buildings/oldest pub and heritage gone. All for the sake of money [sic],” the post said.

“I’ll let everyone else make their own conclusions on the recent events … again thanks for the messages of concern and support.”

While its interior was gutted, the pub’s facade and parts of the exterior remained standing, prompting officials to issue urgent calls for the structure to be rebuilt “brick by brick.”

In a co-authored letter to South Staffordshire Council on August 7, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street made a plea for the culturally and historically significant property to be rebuilt using as much original material as possible.

The burnt out remains of The Crooked House pub near Dudley before its unauthorised demolition, which is now under investigation.Credit: AAP

“We therefore ask you to consider ensuring the property is rebuilt brick by brick…before any further discussion about the future of the site takes place,” he wrote in the letter, which is published online.

“We would strongly ask you to consider not allowing any alternative use and instead keeping this iconic location as a pub. It is in all our interests that we do not allow the Crooked House pub to be consigned to history.”

However, any hopes of restoring the building were dashed on Monday night when the remaining structure was demolished in a possible breach of regulations that could trigger legal action.

A statement released by South Staffordshire Council leader Roger Lees said officers had agreed to remove parts of the first-floor, to protect weak parts of the structure from falling, following a site visit.

“At no point did the council agree on the demolition of the whole structure nor was this deemed necessary. This council finds the manner in which the situation was managed following the fire completely unacceptable and contrary to instructions provided by our officers,” Lees said.

“As such, we are currently investigating potential breaches of both the Town and Country Planning Act and the Buildings Act. We have referred these matters to our legal team with a view to taking enforcement action.”

Lees said council was also consulting police about the unauthorised demolition of the heritage asset.

On social media, locals responding to the fire described it as “absolutely devastating” and “a crying shame.”

“We got married here in 2018, it would have been wonderful to share those memories and revisit again when our daughter was old enough to understand,” wrote Fiona Rumble. “A crying shame it’s gone.”

Another said the pub had been central to the heritage of the Black Country, the area of England’s Midlands where the pub was located.

“Worked here for years till recently doing wedding decor and entertainment, it’s so sad to see this happened. I’m sure they will find out what happened, but it won’t bring the place back,” wrote Liza Heaton.

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