Old places crumbled and fell (9)
I believe the answer is:
collapsed
'fell' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'old places crumbled' is the wordplay.
'crumbled' indicates anagramming the letters.
'old'+'places'='oldplaces'
'oldplaces' anagrammed gives 'COLLAPSED'.
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for collapsed that I've seen before include "Fell apart" , "Cracked up - gave way" , "Gave way, caved in" , "laid low" .)