Type Pub Owner Privately owned | Completed 1765 | |
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Former names Siden House, Glynne Arms Address The Crooked House, Coppice Mill, Off the Himley Road, Himley South Staffordshire, DY3 4DA | ||
The Crooked House is a pub and restaurant in South Staffordshire, England.
Contents
Its name and distinctive appearance are the result of 19th century mining subsidence. One side of the building is now approximately four feet lower than the other.
It stands in an isolated location close to Himley just off the B4176 road between Dudley and Telford, approximately three miles from the nearest town centres of Sedgley and Dudley. Although the entrance to the road leading to it lies within the West Midlands, The Crooked House itself is located just within the South Staffordshire boundary.
History
The Crooked House was built in 1765 and was originally a farmhouse. During the 1800s, mining in the area caused one side of the building to begin gradually sinking. It later became a public house called the Siden House, siden meaning “crooked” in the local Black Country dialect. The building was later named the Glynne Arms after the local landowner.
The building was condemned as unsafe in the 1940s and was scheduled for demolition. It was rescued by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries who made the structure safe using buttresses and girders so as to retain its lopsided appearance. The pub was briefly featured in episode 3 of the 1989 BBC adaptation of David Lodge’s Nice Work.
Optical illusions
The building’s leaning walls give rise to some optical illusions as with a gravity hill. These include glasses slowly sliding across ‘level’ tables and a marble appearing to roll uphill.