Dramatic video footage filmed by a member of the public shows the Greyhound and Punchbowl pub engulfed in flames.
Tall flames can be seen blasting out of the lower floor windows and making their way up the face of the building.
David Davies, 41, from Bilston, said he saw the smoke shortly after closing time. He said: “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. There’s always a fight in there, hence the name punch bowl.”
The 500-year-old Greyhound and Punchbowl pub was torched after fire gutted its interior on Saturday morning.
The Grade II listed building – which has bendy exterior beams – is just a short 13-minute drive away from the now demolished Crooked House pub that burned down five miles away.
Firefighters flooded to the historical building in Bilston at around 3.40am on Saturday morning to tackle the blaze.
Footage from the fire shows flames blasting out one of the downstairs windows while members of the public watched helplessly.
Firefighters from West Midlands Fire Service confirmed the building was unsafe to enter on Saturday.
The fire was put out by 5.20am but over a quarter of the first floor suffered fire damage, while all three floors were smoked damaged.
The fire damaged pub was protected by fencing after blaze hit the drinking venue yesterday
The pub was a vibrant community hub before the fire ravaged the building over the weekend
The historic pub is thought to have been built in 1450 as a manor house before it was reopened with a license sometime between 1774-1820.
It underwent a thorough restoration in the 1930s when a concrete skin was added to the timber frame for longevity.
Police investigating the fire at the Crooked House in Himley, Staffs, had arrested and bailed two men on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.
The historic building, which gained notoriety for its wonky floors and walls, was gutted in a suspected arson attack on August 5 and bulldozed without council permission two days later – sparking both mystery and anger over what happened.
Suspicions grew as the popular pub was destroyed just days after it was sold. Just last week, the jet-setting owners of the boozer vehemently denied any responsibility.
Police had arrested two men, aged 33 and 66, on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after a fire destroyed the Crooked House pub in Hilmley, Staffordshire
Until August 5 when it mysteriously burnt down and was then bulldozed without council permission, The Crooked House in Himley, Staffs, held the title of Britain’s wonkiest pub
Andy Taylor and his glamorous jet-setting wife Carly (pictured together) bought the pub two weeks before it went up in flames
The couple at the heart of the storm – 34-year-old owner Carly Taylor and her husband Adam – removed themselves from the situation by escaping on holiday in a luxury £15,000-a-week villa in Corfu.
This week, Mr Taylor refused to respond to requests for a statement about the destruction of the much-loved 18th century pub that was about to become a listed building after he was confronted by a Mail reporter.
Previously Taylor – who owns a landfill site next to the inn – had told a reporter to ‘P*** off’ and condemned the outrage surrounding the gutting of the Cooked House as ‘bulls***’.
He told The Sun: ‘Just p*** off and let us have a holiday away from all the lies and bulls*** in England.
‘There was nothing serious. I’m not getting into discussing it.
‘We didn’t answer anything in the UK because of the police investigation so we’re not f***ing gonna answer anything here, are we?
‘When the police finish their investigation I’ll put a story out then, when I’m ready.’
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