A 500-year-old Grade II listed pub in Bilston has been severely damaged in a fire that police are treating as suspected arson. The Greyhound and Punchbowl pub was engulfed in flames in the early hours of Saturday morning, just weeks after the notorious Crooked House pub was destroyed in a similar incident five miles away.
Firefighters from West Midlands Fire Service were called to the scene at around 3.40am. Dramatic footage captured by a member of the public showed tall flames blasting from the lower floor windows and climbing up the face of the timber-framed building. The fire was brought under control by 5.20am, but over a quarter of the first floor suffered fire damage, and all three floors were affected by smoke.
David Davies, 41, who lives nearby, said he saw smoke shortly after the pub had closed. 'I live round the corner and the pub had just chucked everybody out after a lock in then I saw the smoke and heard the sirens,' he said. The pub, believed to have been built in 1450 as a manor house before gaining a license between 1774 and 1820, was a vibrant community hub.
The fire comes after the Crooked House pub in Himley, Staffordshire, was gutted in a suspected arson attack on August 5 and subsequently bulldozed without council permission. Two men have been arrested and bailed on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life in connection with that incident. The owners of the Crooked House, Andy and Carly Taylor, have denied any responsibility and were on holiday in Corfu when approached by reporters.
West Midlands Fire Service confirmed the Greyhound and Punchbowl building was unsafe to enter. Police are investigating the cause of the fire, which is being treated as suspicious.
