A history of graves

The churchyard at Himley is a microcosm of the history of graveyards.  Though it is comparatively small, it has a long history of burials, and a number of different types. 
The small, half-sunken marker stones you see in the photo above date back to when the idea of commemorating an individual started, the 17th Century (before then, one was buried, yes, but there would have been no marker.  In a sense, it was the start of Individualism!)

Himley's more modern smaller graves were presumably for the workers who toiled away on the grand estate nearby.

Stately home goes to dogs

I don't know Himley Park very well, but, coming across it, I wandered in through its opulent gates, following people walking their dogs.
It turned out to be the grounds of the huge & impressive eighteenth-century stately home Himley Hall.
I was amazed to find that I could walk right up to the front doors of the hall, and even peer in through the windows.
But actually, Himley Hall and Park - once owned by one of the most powerful families in England - was bought by the local authority fifty years ago, and it's offices and a conference centre now.

How the mighty are fallen, eh?

A crooked pub

Yes, this pub is literally tipsy. One end is actually four feet higher than the other, because the sunken end is dipping into subsidence. 
There are odd optical illusions that occur - like seeing a marble roll over a table upwards, and grandfather clocks that appear to be ever on the verge of falling over.

Actually, the weird thing is that The Crooked House was declared unsafe (not surprisingly) in 1940.  But a local brewery decided it would be fun to preserve it - and sure enough, despite its remote location, it has been a tourist attraction ever since. 
Regular checks are carried out to ensure it's not slipping dangerously...

Crooked road leads to...

The Crooked House in Himley is one of your more out-of-the-way pubs. It's down a long, abandoned, unlit, narrow lane, and new visitors are never quite sure they're on the right route.

Fortunately, happy lttle signs (such as the one in the photo), advising drivers not to go so fast that they will end up in the river, do remind you that you're on the right road. 

Maybe it's the Black Country sense of humour...(?!!!)