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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent

‘People are sick of having our heritage knocked down’: how the Crooked House saga became a state of the nation story

The Crooked House pub, a local landmark in Himley, Staffordshire, before it burned down and was bulldozed.
The Crooked House pub, a local landmark in Himley, Staffordshire, before it burned down and was bulldozed. Photograph: Nick Maslen/Alamy/PA

When Paul Turner started an online petition calling for his local pub in the Staffordshire village of Himley to be saved after it was sold to new owners, he was expecting only a few hundred signatures. Then the Crooked House pub burned down, making headlines around the world.

“I expected it to be just a few names, but we’re approaching 16,000 signatures now,” said Turner. “It has turned into something completely different. The amount of support we’ve had has been unbelievable.”

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