Sadly, there is nothing positive to report regarding the Crooked House. Readers will recall that the famous ‘wonky’ pub in Himley burned down in August 2023 and was subsequently demolished. South Staffordshire Council then ordered the owners to rebuild the pub to its original plans within three years. The owners appealed against this and their appeal was scheduled to be heard by a planning inspector in March. The owners however successfully appealed to the High Court to have the proceedings delayed until, it is understood, the associated criminal case is completed. Six people were arrested in connection with the fire. Progress with the criminal case appears to be very slow.
The case prompted the then MP for Dudley South, Marco Longhi, to introduce his Heritage Pubs bill in Parliament, seeking to provide better protection for community pubs. Mr Longhi’s constituency was abolished at the 2024 election but Mike Wood, the MP for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire, is continuing to promote the bill and it was due to have its second reading in Parliament in April. As seems to be the way with this case, this was postponed and a new date has not yet been set.
• An application to demolish the Anglesea Arms in Woolwich and replace it with a block of seven flats and a commercial unit has been refused by Greenwich Council. The pub, which dates from 1850, is on the local heritage list and it is also within the Woolwich Conservation Area. It closed in January. The developers said that the commercial unit was intended to be ‘a space for gathering the local community’ in place of the pub but the Council decided that the loss of the public house was unacceptable. They also questioned the efforts that had been made to keep the pub open.
• The Grade II*-listed Mawson Arms/Fox & Hounds, once the Fuller’s brewery tap, has also had a planning application rejected. The proposal was to convert the ground floor into two flats. The upper floors have already been converted. Sadly, the decision was not based on the need to retain the site as a pub (which it has been since 1759) but because Hounslow Council decided that the living conditions in the proposed flats did not meet the standard set out in their planning policy.
• There is still no definite information as to what is to become of the currently closed Ye Olde Swiss Cottage but there is some good news in that Camden Council has now listed the pub as an Asset of Community Value. The local press rather exaggerated the effect of this in saying it now has ‘five years protection from demolition’ but it is useful all the same. If the owners decide to appeal against the listing, we will at least find out who they are and, possibly, what their intentions are. Thanks to the Belsize Society, local residents and Camden Council’s planning team for their hard work on the application.
• Good news as regards the Trafalgar Free House in South Wimbledon. A proposal was submitted for the demolition of the existing distinctive building and its replacement by a four-storey block of flats with a replacement bar on the ground floor. Many objectors considered this replacement to be inadequate. Happily, Merton Council agreed, saying that ‘the harm arising from loss of the public house, and its associated heritage, cultural, economic and social value’ went against local planning policy, as well as Policy HC7 (A1 and B) of the London Plan 2021.
Updates from CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors:
• The Antelope in Tooting (SW17 9NG) has recently been refurbished by Urban Pubs & Bars who acquired the pub from Antic. The refurbishment, reported to have cost £1 million, is impressive but, unfortunately, several inter-war features have been lost. These include the bar counter, a stillion bar-back in the centre of the servery and the mirrored bar-back at the rear of the servery with a ‘Barclays Beers’ illuminated panel. The former billiards room at the back is however virtually unchanged, although the panelled walls have been painted magenta. As a consequence, the pub has been downgraded from two stars to one.
• The Builders Arms in Teddington has reopened after a two-year closure and has also been refurbished. Happily, the pub, which dates from 1865, still has its historic features so retains its two star rating.
• The Horns Tavern in West Norwood, a Craft Union (Stonegate) venue, has been removed from CAMRA’s National Inventory because, in the course of a recent refurbishment, all surviving historic features were removed. It had rated one star.
• The very distinctive Roundhouse in Dagenham, once a well known music venue, was built in 1936 for Watney’s Brewery by Alfred W Blomfield. It served the Becontree Estate and originally had a tea room and an indoor bowling green. The pub had previously been rated one star but a recent refurbishment has seen the loss of its remaining historic features and so it has now been removed from the inventory.
