Near Gornal in the Black Country region of England, lies a public house which is Britain's answer to The Leaning Tower of Pisa. The whole building leans at approximately 15° from level, and makes for a most interesting exterior and interior alike.

It is also one of the few pubs where you can become disoriented and dizzy without even touching a drop!


Built in 1765 as a farmhouse, the area on which it was built was extensively mined for coal. In the mid 1800s, there was a huge subsidence problem, and the southern half of the building sank by several feet.

Amazingly, the building survived and later became a pub, known as The Siden House - the word siden being Black Country dialect for crooked. Later, it was named The Glynne Arms after Sir Stephen Glynne, the landowner and brother-in-law to William Gladstone. Its common name The Crooked House was more recently adopted as its official name.

The pub was condemned in the 1940s, but fortunately the decision was reversed when Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries bought it.

The Pub Today

Today, owned by Banks's, the pub is a thriving meeting place for locals as well as a minor tourist attraction - being close to Himley Hall and Halfpenny Green Vineyard. The floors of the two bars are individually level, although they are on different levels from each other, with steps joining them.

The vertical parts of the window and door frames are vertical, but the horizontals slope with the building. The joiner certainly had his work cut out.

There are new extensions built on - one for toilets and kitchen, and a large dining room and bar. The new parts of the building were built level - although the window through from the dining room to the bar is suitably confusing.

The Crooked House serves a selection of draught ales, bottles and soft drinks; as well as food. It has a sister pub by the canal in Wolverly, called The Lock.

There is, at the time of writing, a good picture at:


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