More than 100 locals gathered near the rubble of the Crooked House in Dudley on Tuesday, 8 August, to lament the historic pub’s destruction.
The well-known 18th-century pub was extensively damaged by a fire on Saturday evening and was later demolished.
South Staffordshire Council is investigating potential breaches of the law over the total demolition of the pub.
A former landlord of the pub, Tom Catton, said his life would have been very different without the Crooked House.
“It means so much to us this place. This is where I met [my wife.] I proposed to her here,” he said.