Wonky 18th century pub, The Crooked House, mysteriously burns to the ground after new owners take over

[1927]

Ok. Am a bit jumpy these days.

It's a stereotype used against Irish people, which is why my eyebrow raised.

Are the Taylor's Irish?

 

[Spymaster]

What if the match-lighter, assuming its not the owner themselves, was given immunity if they fingered who'd ordered the matches?

That'd be good. I won't hold my breath though.

 

[BCBlues]

 

[WhyLikeThis]

“Mrs Taylor also currently controls AT Contracting and Plant Hire Ltd, which the BBC understands rented a digger a week before flames engulfed The Crooked House on 5 August.”

Crooked House owners' links to previous major fire

A huge fire broke out at a Buckinghamshire landfill site five years before the Black Country blaze.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[StoneRoad]

“Mrs Taylor also currently controls AT Contracting and Plant Hire Ltd, which the BBC understands rented a digger a week before flames engulfed The Crooked House on 5 August.”

Crooked House owners' links to previous major fire

A huge fire broke out at a Buckinghamshire landfill site five years before the Black Country blaze.

www.bbc.co.uk

Was just coming here to post that.

Read right down to the end --- some very positive vibes coming out of that last section.
Item also mentions the rebuilding petition is attracting a lot of attention.

 

[StoneRoad]

Been a public meeting ...

MP pledges to push for Crooked House law

Marco Longhi wants to see better protection for heritage buildings after crooked pub's demolition.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

A brick by brick rebuild was was only possible with the Carlton Tavern, because the local pressure group suspected that the developers were going to pull a stunt, and had Historic England photograph and document every inch of the pub right down to taking plaster casts of all of the tiling, so a detailed record was available for the rebuild. If that hasn't been done for TCH, a facsimile rebuild will probably be considered impossible.

As things stand, jail time is unlikely. Even if it was shown to be arson, proving who was responsible to a degree likely to result in convictions is a whole different matter unless someone comes forward and grasses them. That would probably have to be the match-lighter, and he'd end up doing time too. The demolition of the building is nothing to do with the police, so any remedies to this are likely to be in the hands of the planners rather than the police/courts. The best you can probably hope for is an order to rebuild a pub, rescinding of any permissions granted or pending, and a massive skidmark on these people that'll hopefully affect any future applications they make.

There's also some small comfort to be taken in the fact that Mr and Mrs Taylor are highly likely to be be shitting their pants at the moment and will be for quite some time.

Given how famous the crooked pub was, there's surely enough photographic evidence of all the architectural features? They could surely crowd source pictures of what it looked like from every angle, and then do 3D rendering of it all to provide technical drawings and specifications?

 

[editor]

Busted!

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of arson over a fire that tore through the Crooked House pub.

Crooked House: Arson arrests in pub fire probe

Two men are in police custody on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

www.bbc.co.uk

And from yesterday: Crooked House: Wonky pub's bricks and foundations to stay

 

[skyscraper101]

I won’t hold my breath this’ll end up with a successful prosecution but I sure hope it will

 

[moochedit]

2 men not man and woman so they must have found the match lighter(s)

 

[StoneRoad]

Perhaps the two men [?] can be persuaded to give up their paymaster.

Personally, I think there might be grounds for conspiracy charges to be lurking in the background

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Perhaps the two men [?] can be persuaded to give up their paymaster.

Personally, I think there might be grounds for conspiracy charges to be lurking in the background

Those suspected paymasters are currently relaxing and sunning it up in a £15,000-a-week villa.

 

[Wilf]

2 men not man and woman so they must have found the match lighter(s)

Yes, and not Adam Taylor. He's 44, whereas the 2 men arrested are 66 and 33. Not exactly a surprise that the Taylor's didn't do the deed themselves.

 

[WhyLikeThis]

I bet the twats had their phones on them while they torched it too, giving away their location. Shame

 

[Duncan2]

Did i mishear what was on the news about the arrests? I thought they said that two men had been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life?

 

[moochedit]

Perhaps the two men [?] can be persuaded to give up their paymaster.

Depends if they are the "never grass and do your time" types or not i guess although i'm sure the police will try that.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

That's what the "intent to endanger life" is for. Up the severity of the charges, increase the likelihood of flipping on the masterminds.

 

[teqniq]

Arson in and of itself is serious enough on its own but yeah this is being used to apply extra pressure.

 

[two sheds]

Would be interested to see any money coming in to their bank accounts around that time

 

[cupid_stunt]

This is urban building the case for the cops.

 

[StoneRoad]

Would be interested to see any money coming in to their bank accounts around that time

ah, but, that's why cash .....

 

[two sheds]

indeed, look under their mattresses too

 

[moochedit]

indeed, look under their mattresses too

Crypto wallets surely

 

[Wilf]

This is urban building the case for the cops.

I've always seen the Mods as Urban's CPS.

Oh, hang on, that would make Ed Urban's Keir Starmer.

 

[1927]

Only just noticed something that will surely add to evidence that this was planned all along. When the pub was demolished (for safety reasons) why was the adjacent building that was completely untouched in the fire demolished too?

 

[platinumsage]

Did i mishear what was on the news about the arrests? I thought they said that two men had been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life?

Yes, it was arson being reckless as to whether the life of another would be thereby endangered, not intent.

Failing to check the building for a homeless person would be sufficient I think.

 

[kalmatthew]

Yes, it was arson being reckless as to whether the life of another would be thereby endangered, not intent.

Failing to check the building for a homeless person would be sufficient I think.

I was wondering if the risk to firefighters from a structure involved fire would be enough

 

[danski]

So, has the mysterious pile of dirt blocking the road been explained yet?

Can’t have anything to do with the machine they hired a few days before the fire, that was conveniently on hand to demolish it, can it?

 

[Duncan2]

So, has the mysterious pile of dirt blocking the road been explained yet?

Can’t have anything to do with the machine they hired a few days before the fire, that was conveniently on hand to demolish it, can it?

maybe a soil sample could provide a clue to whose landfill site might have been the source of the heap

 

[blossie33]

Released on bail now...

Crooked House: Two released on bail in pub arson probe

Two men arrested on suspicion of committing arson with intent to endanger life are released on bail.

www.bbc.co.uk