Whose fault is the demise of the Crooked House in Himley, Staffordshire, now a pile of bricks? The nation is up in arms. MPs, peers, mayors, editors, villagers and about 18,000 people on a Facebook group are all gnashing their teeth. Even the demolition contractor, whose digger was actually booked before the pub caught fire, is embarrassed. Many of these worthies may not have known of the pub before. They sure do now, and they all want it put back, brick by crooked brick.
There is a tried and tested procedure for securing a building that is of “architectural and historic interest”. It is called protective listing. An 18th-century pub would surely have qualified. Historic England, which wants the Crooked House restored, said it received a request to list the building a few days before the fire. But such a renowned building should have been listed a long time ago. This is perhaps more evidence for the inadequacy of the current system in England – witness the ongoing row over saving the unlisted M&S store on Oxford Street in London.
