Can the intriguing past of the couple behind the purchase of Britain’s wonkiest pub help explain WHY it has been razed to the ground? TOM RAWSTORNE sifts through the rubble

• The Crooked House in Black Country became known as Britain’s wonkiest pub
• The pub mysteriously caught fire last weekend and has since been demolished  

For a country that supposedly treasures its past, the sorry saga of The Crooked House marks a shameful chapter in the history of this nation. Because, as its name suggests, this Black Country boozer was really special.

Built in 1765, it wasn’t long after its completion that one end of the brick property began slowly but surely to sink into the ground. Caused by mining activity beneath, such subsidence would have torn apart less well-built buildings.

But not Britain’s ‘wonkiest pub’, as it came to be known. When it finally settled, the still-complete structure was leaning at an angle of 15 degrees – with one end a full four foot lower than the other.

And so its fame spread far and wide, people travelling from around the world to enjoy a pint in a place whose geometry appeared to defy logic. ‘Nothing is what it seems,’ was how one former landlady put it. ‘You come in drunk and you leave sober.’

Not any more. Because what gravity could not undo over two centuries, human hand has razed to the ground over the course of just two days last week.

Last Saturday, the empty pub in Himley, Staffs, mysteriously caught fire. Despite being a serious blaze, incredibly the exterior shell of the redoubtable building survived. But it would only be a brief reprieve. Because on Monday, those same walls were completely flattened with a digger.

When it finally settled, the still-complete structure was leaning at an angle of 15 degrees — with one end a full four foot lower than the other

It means that, today, all that remains of The Crooked House is a pile of bricks, a growing sense of outrage and one question: How could a building steeped in such history be simply wiped from the face of the Earth in this way?

Because with every day that passes, ever more troubling aspects to the case have emerged.

It now transpires that fire crews struggled to reach the pub because the private road leading to it was blocked with soil. Crews had to roll out 40 lengths of hose reels to get a water supply to the building.

As for the extent of the damage, council officials insist the burnt shell only needed limited work to make it safe. While the blaze destroyed the roof and interior, pictures taken the following day show the wonky walls had emerged remarkably unscathed.

Over the years they had been reinforced with brick buttresses and steel ties to prevent further movement. Incredibly, even the signage on the front was undamaged.

Then there is the cause of the fire itself. Police now believe it was arson – although their investigation has inevitably been hampered by the demolition of the remains. But perhaps most interesting of all is the timing of the building’s destruction.

Brewery Marston’s sold the £675,000 pub just days before the blaze. It was purchased through a limited company called ATE Farms, run by a woman called Carly Taylor.

Last Saturday, the empty pub in Himley, Staffs, mysteriously caught fire. Despite being a serious blaze, incredibly the exterior shell of the redoubtable building survived

The blaze took hold of the historic and iconic building last Saturday 

READ MORE: Inside Britain’s wonkiest pub The Crooked House where coins appear to roll uphill on the bar

The Crooked House, in Himley, Dudley, West Midlands, is dubbed Britain’s wonkiest pub

A Bentley-driving 34-year-old, her social media feed is full of photos of her living the high life, shopping for Louboutin shoes and holidaying in luxury hotels.

What could the glamorous Mrs Taylor have possibly wanted with a run-down, country pub?

It’s a question police will no doubt be raising with her in due course, if they haven’t already.

But in the meantime, it has emerged that among the businesses linked to her and husband Adam, is a company that runs a 37- acre quarry and landfill site bordering The Crooked House.

Sources told the Mail there had been disagreements with the brewery over an access road to the pub which they shared. Another possible clue is to be found in the nearby Warwickshire village of Willey. In 2020, its pub was purchased by another company run by Mrs Taylor. To the horror of local residents, soon after, her husband and builders moved in, gutting the interior.

Mr Taylor then applied for permission to build houses in the car park and convert the upstairs into flats. Perhaps unsurprisingly, news of The Crooked House’s fate did not go unnoticed by residents there.

‘We know Mr Taylor by reputation and when we heard it was his new Crooked House pub bulldozed, it was a weird feeling of deja vu,’ said one villager. Another added: ‘In places like this, pubs are often the heart of communities. People’s lives unfold in them — from night outs to celebrating weddings to wakes. They mean a lot.’

That such sentiments also apply to The Crooked House was evident from the outpouring of sorrow and anger that greeted its destruction.

None felt it more keenly than former landlord Lee Goodchild. He took over the tenancy of the pub in September of last year, something he told the Mail he only did on the understanding that he would be there for the long term.

‘When I moved in the first question I asked Marston’s was: ‘Are you planning on selling the site because it needs a lot of work and it’s going to take a good 18 months to two years to turn it around.’ And they said: ‘No we are not going to sell, it’s iconic, it’s one of our best-loved, most beautiful sites, we have got no thought of selling it.’ That was in September — on January 5 a decision was made to sell it.’

Despite being devastated by the news, Mr Goodchild soldiered on, noting there appeared to be little interest from prospective buyers.

It means that, today, all that remains of The Crooked House is a pile of bricks, a growing sense of outrage and one question: How could a building steeped in such history be simply wiped from the face of the Earth in this way?

Then, at the end of June, the pub suffered a serious break-in. While little was stolen, extensive damage was done to the kitchen and other fixtures and fittings, forcing its closure. A few weeks later he says he was told by Marston’s they would not pay for repairs and a sale had been agreed. The sale was completed on July 27, with Mr Goodchild posting on social media: ‘The Crooked House has been sold. Unlikely to be opening its doors again … Marston’s have sold the site to private buyer for alternative use – that is all we know.’

At the time Marston’s – motto Pubs To Be Proud Of – said it was ‘delighted’ at the sale. Sources close to the company insist it was sold as a ‘going concern’ rather than for re-development, with some media reports that it was to be used as a wedding venue.

‘They wouldn’t identify the buyers to me,’ says Mr Goodchild, noting that soon after, contractors working for Marston’s removed the beer taps, coolers, fridges and pipework. ‘Clearly the new owners didn’t want to run it as a pub.’

Others were also concerned about its future, starting a petition to save the pub from redevelopment. Teacher Steven Banfield said he warned police the building was at risk of vandalism prior to the fire, having found the door open and no security.

‘I found it really strange that someone would spend all that money then not secure it,’ he said.

Built in 1765, it wasn’t long after its completion that one end of the brick property began slowly but surely to sink into the ground

Brewery Marston’s sold the £675,000 pub just days before the blaze. It was purchased through a limited company called ATE Farms, run by a woman called Carly Taylor (Pictured Carly with husband Adam)

‘I contacted the police as it was playing on my mind because of the building’s history and how vulnerable it was.’ Despite its age and history, the pub was not listed. But Historic England has confirmed that in the days following its sale it received a submission requesting listing — although it is not clear from whom. It would have meant alterations would have required permission from the council.

But it was not to be. As we know a huge fire broke out shortly after 10 pm on Saturday and an investigation into the cause was immediately launched. But on Monday evening there was a further dramatic development.

Caught on camera by a passer-by, a digger could be seen smashing down the structure of the building until barely a brick was left standing. It has been claimed that a firm owned by Mrs Taylor hired the machine from a plant company a week before the fire.

As news spread, the sense of disbelief among locals and politicians quickly morphed into anger.

Marco Longhi, Conservative MP for Dudley North, said he has written to police to ask how they are conducting their investigation.

‘Surely, they would have needed access to the site to carry on their investigation with the help of forensics? How are they going to do this now that the building has been demolished?’ he asked.

Derrick McConell, 64, of Dudley, who has drank in the pub for more than 20 years, said the venue had struggled to get back on its feet following the pandemic

The quirky entrance to the Crooked House

READ MORE: One last drink for the Crooked House: Ex-landlord toasts Britain’s wonkiest pub in emotional final farewell as devastated campaigners gather near rubble of demolished remains and vow to rebuild it after devastating fire

People inspect the rubble of the Crooked House pub in Himley, Staffordshire, yesterday

It was also revealed by Roger Lees, leader of South Staffordshire Council, that planning officers who visited the pub on Monday had not called for it to be knocked down.

‘The agreed course of action included the removal of three elements of the first-floor front elevation only,’ Mr Lees said. He added: ‘This council finds the manner in which the situation was managed following the fire completely unacceptable and contrary to instructions provided by our officers.’

Staffordshire police, meanwhile, said that their investigation was continuing and that they would be ‘speaking to the owners’.

Only then did it emerge who they were, ATE Farms. Mrs Taylor is listed as the sole director of the company, whose purpose is given as the letting and operation of real estate. Accounts show it as having £3.8 million-worth of properties with equity of £1.6 million.

Attempts to contact the Taylors for comment were unsuccessful.

They have links as directors to a string of other companies, past and present. Accounts for a multi-million pound firm called AT Contracting & Plant Hire Ltd has Mr Taylor listed as one of two directors, and Mrs Taylor as having ‘significant control’ over it.

Mr Taylor is also a former director and current shareholder in Himley Environmental Ltd, the company that operates the landfill site next to The Crooked House.

A source told the Mail the purchase of the pub had been ‘all about access’ following disagreements between Himley and Marston’s over a road to the pub.

A Marston’s spokesman said there had been an ‘ongoing fly-tipping issue on the private access road for which Himley Environmental was responsible’. He added that ‘ATE Farms did not query this but was aware’.

Along with the Taylors’ business interests, details of the couple’s lavish lifestyle have emerged. Home is a £600,000 detached property in a gated compound in Leicestershire.

Meanwhile, pictures on social media show Mrs Taylor driving a Bentley, flying first class and posing at the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Friends have told of her passion for designer handbags, of which she owns ‘dozens’.

A relative told how the former nail technician used to run her own beauty business in Lutterworth but has got used to ‘living the high life’. It is understood that Mr Taylor, who is ten years her senior, met his second wife while she was working as a barmaid.

The relative added: ‘I think she thinks she is better than everyone else since she married into money.’

Aerial shots after the fire showed just how badly the 18th century pub in Himley was damaged

Staffordshire Police said on Monday that investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing

Two chairs are seen outside the Crooked House pub yesterday after its demolition on Monday

Mrs Taylor has also spent a considerable sum of money on her appearance.

In 2018 she appeared in this newspaper telling how she paid £30,000 to have her teeth improved. Describing herself as a married mother of two, she said: ‘Before, I would hold my hand over my mouth when I laughed – now, I’m always showing my teeth off.’

The couple’s activities have not always gone unchallenged – either by locals or local councils.

In 2008 Carly Gilbert, as she then was, was ordered by Harborough District Council in Leicestershire to remove a dwelling she and her partner had built in a barn designated for agricultural use.

Then in 2020, a company controlled by Mrs Taylor – ATE Properties (Midlands) Ltd – paid £360,000 to purchase the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn in Willey.

Until lockdown, the traditional pub was the only place for its residents to socialise in a village that has no shop or church.

In March 2021, Rugby Borough Council approved a residents’ request to protect it as ‘an asset of community value’, but the decision was overturned on appeal.

Mr Taylor then applied to build two houses in the garden and turn the first floor into rental accommodation. One resident said the ‘ruthless’ businessman then gutted the pub on the ground floor.

The woman said: ‘They ripped out everything, to the outrage and upset of local people — the plaster, the plumbing, the electrics, it is a shell. All the villagers objected, there are only around 20 of us, but the pub was the heart of our village.’ Mr Taylor has since been given planning permission for a reduced scheme.

The couple have also applied to transform a Leicestershire quarry into a farm shop and cafe, alongside 33 holiday lodges, and a 35- acre solar farm. No decision on that scheme has yet been made.

As for The Crooked House, there are growing demands that the pub should be re-built ‘brick-by-brick’, with the bill picked up by whoever is responsible for its destruction.

Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands, said: ‘We will not let The Crooked House be consigned to history.’

A phoenix rising from the ashes? Possibly. Albeit one with wonky wings.

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