Crooked House, Himley

The Crooked house, as it is now known, was first built in 1765 as a farmhouse. It later became a public house called the Siden House (Siden being Black Country dialect for crooked). Its leaning effect is due to local mining in the 1800s when the building was badly affected by subsidence, meaning that one side of the building is now four feet lower than the other! It was condemned as unsafe in the 1940s.

Thankfully this wonderful building was rescued by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries when it was reinforced with supporting buttresses and girders. Now known as The Crooked House it has become a tourist attraction and is visited by thirsty travellers from all over the world.

The uneven floors combined with the leaning walls can create some very intriguing optical illusions where glasses can slowly slide across tables. The famous marble trick is a must see when you are here.

I wonder if this was the house that the crooked man lived in from the nursery rhyme?

There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse.
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

Watch this space as Mr Q and I intend to visit when we are next in the area and we hope to interview the owners and take photos of our own to post on here.

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