The Telephone Box

Welcome

If you are ever in Parliament Square in London, take a moment to watch the crowds of tourists taking photographs. Along with the historic buildings lining the square, including the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, one of the smallest structures receives equal attention from those photographers. Dwarfed by the Government Offices on Great George Street stand half-a-dozen red Telephone Boxes and, more often that not, tourists pause to have their pictures taken standing alongside or inside one of these kiosks. If the tourists visit one of the many souvenir shops in London they will see all manner of Telephone Box gifts and trinkets, from postcards to fridge magnets, and key-rings to money boxes.

What these tourists might not recognise is the historic and cultural significance of the Telephone Box, nor may they notice that just within this small group of kiosks there are two different designs. In fact there were eight kiosk variants introduced between 1921 and 1968, when the public telephone network was part of the General Post Office. Such was the importance of the telephone network that a number of national competitions were formed to invite designs from some of Britain's leading architects and designers of the time.

The Telephone Box has become an icon of British design, alongside the black taxi and the Routemaster bus. It is part of this nation's heritage and identity. But despite this, with the development of modern mobile technologies and increased ownership of smartphone handsets, the red Telephone Box is under threat, with numbers declining. From a peak of over 70,000 in the 1980s, today there only 11,000 red telephone kiosks surviving in public service.

The Telephone BoxKiosk profiles

The Telephone BoxAbout this website

This website tell the story of the Telephone, with profiles of the different kiosks, a timeline, facts and figures, and photographs.

The Telephone BoxKiosk news

• 11-04-2013Lancashire telephone kiosk to become home to life-saving defibrillator equipment http://goo.gl/0gn0S
• 04-04-2013Cambridgeshire resident urges British Telecom to reinstate village telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/alclb
• 30-03-2013Over fifty adopted red telephone boxes have become home to life-saving defibrillators http://goo.gl/5SWA8
• 28-03-2013A K6 telephone kiosk reappears in Lincoln town centre, but as a cash point machine http://goo.gl/m0MdW
• 27-03-2013East London residents invite suggestions from locals for uses for two adopted kiosks http://goo.gl/dLbos
• 27-03-2013Cornwall villagers convert disused local telephone kiosk to serve as a miniature book library http://goo.gl/c74S8
• 22-03-2013Echoes of the decline in the British red telephone box seen in New York City http://goo.gl/zxe8k
• 20-03-2013Rutland telephone box is the 2000th kiosk to be adopted as part of BT scheme http://goo.gl/GQhzS
• 18-03-2013British Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster becomes home to a K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/9xXCm
• 13-03-2013Hampshire kiosk is restored by BT following a campaign by local residents http://goo.gl/DnOCi
• 09-03-2013Declining telephone box usage sees British Telecom removing kiosks in Warwick http://goo.gl/izzg8
• 27-02-2013Hull K6 kiosk dressed up to help raise money for the BBC's Comic Relief 2013 http://goo.gl/EB4GU
• 25-02-2013The Urban Ghosts online magazine recalls the history of the red Telephone Box http://goo.gl/ETj2Y
• 21-02-2013Derbyshire village telephone kiosk home to life-saving defibrillator equipment http://goo.gl/GnZu3
• 16-02-2013Lincolnshire telephone kiosk is awarded listed status by English Heritage http://goo.gl/Hjqid
• 05-02-2013The Daily Telegraph charts the many unusual uses for the red telephone box http://goo.gl/XjDBC
• 29-01-2013A K6 telephone kiosk takes pride of place in a new Design Museum exhibition http://goo.gl/LuKp6
• 25-01-2013Kent community looks for a new use for its adopted K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/0ES4q
• 17-01-2013Expatriate K6 kiosk in Orange County, California to become local art installation http://goo.gl/eXIfo
• 11-01-2013Surrey kiosk is attacked by mindless vandals just months after its restoration http://goo.gl/LrvGi
• 08-01-2013Watch my interview with German television, Deutsche Welle, about the Telephone Box http://goo.gl/rlO49
• 30-12-2012Builder Les Kenny charts his project to build himself a K2 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/Kg5hN
• 21-12-2012Cambridgeshire school children use a K6 kiosk to help their story writing skills http://goo.gl/ZC1BC
• 20-12-2012London votes the red telephone box as the city icon they would most like to save http://goo.gl/8nV0r
• 20-12-2012Somerset community looks for a new use for its adopted K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/0TjwT
• 13-12-2012Edinburgh's Portobello area to open an art gallery in a disused K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/CG2KG
• 07-12-2012Devonshire community continues with its restoration of their adopted telephone box http://goo.gl/vUozy
• 06-12-2012Disused Cambridgeshire K6 kiosk is wrapped to become a giant Christmas present http://goo.gl/WEI7E
• 04-12-2012Suffolk K6 telephone kiosk is 'rediscovered' under a thick covering of ivy growth http://goo.gl/NcMsL
• 29-11-2012Somerset village councillors agree to adopt the local K6 kiosk to stop its removal http://goo.gl/kjCfV
• 26-11-2012Kilmuir become the latest community to take part in the 'Adopt a Kiosk' scheme http://goo.gl/ckIjW
• 14-11-2012Devon town residents embark on a restoration of their adopted K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/FBUCp
• 09-11-2012A red telephone box makes it was across the Atlantic to join an expatriate Briton in New England http://goo.gl/o21gy
• 09-11-2012A Somerset telephone kiosk, rescued from the undergrowth, is threatened with decommissioning http://goo.gl/0TXqO
• 30-10-2012A Harborough resident calls for a neglected K6 telephone kiosk in the town to be repainted http://goo.gl/mLyQg
• 29-10-2012Somerset K6 telephone kiosk is 'discovered' completely covered in ivy growth http://goo.gl/qUVbm
• 26-10-2012Disused Norfolk telephone kiosk to become a local information point for visitors http://goo.gl/3jtxO
• 18-10-2012Village secures Community Action Pride award for its adopted K6 kiosk lending library http://goo.gl/2rSu1
• 04-10-2012North Dorset telephone kiosk is refurbished and converted into a miniature community library http://goo.gl/3AzN7
• 04-10-2012Scottish villagers form a stockade of vehicles to protect a K6 kiosk from removal by BT http://goo.gl/ZbHZ1
• 04-10-2012Cotswolds telephone kiosk is set to be transformed into a local lending library http://goo.gl/0jZf4
• 03-10-2012Devon K6 kiosk is given a dramatic makeover after it is adopted by parish council http://goo.gl/mvr46
• 02-10-2012Northamptonshire school creates a student book exchange, housed in a K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/XDLnB
• 01-10-2012South Oxfordshire parish council looks into adopting a neglected K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/BL6Zg
• 01-10-2012Kent village K6 telephone kiosk marks a new beginning as a local lending library http://goo.gl/yvo81
• 22-09-2012Staffordshire village's iconic K6 telephone kiosk is profiled on community website http://goo.gl/PeyCM
• 12-09-2012Gloucestershire residents are the latest community to adopt a K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/zaTGs
• 06-09-2012Surrey youngsters restore kiosk in Dorking as part of a summer of community work in the county http://goo.gl/R9Zp4
• 05-09-2012A Guildford photographer calls for the town's remaining K6 telephone kiosks to be restored http://goo.gl/vkJ9n
• 04-09-2012Dorset villagers unite to convert village kiosk into miniature tourist information centre http://goo.gl/rokYO
• 28-08-2012Bid to use four disused K6 kiosks for a network of life-saving defibrillators in Sussex http://goo.gl/jrbEv
• 23-08-2012Scottish islanders dismayed to find K6 telephone kiosk stripped of its telephone equipment http://goo.gl/Uitkh
• 20-08-2012Police call for information after County Armagh kiosk wrecked by mystery explosion http://goo.gl/0Tlcb
• 20-08-2012South Oxfordshire K6 kiosk repainted gold to celebrate Britain's Olympians http://goo.gl/GiIFP
• 12-08-2012Olympic boxing champion Luke Campbell honoured with a gold-painted K6 kiosk http://goo.gl/X42Af
• 09-08-2012West Country village telephone box transformed by residents into local lending library http://goo.gl/4dnMA
• 03-08-2012Interview with ABC News about the history and decline of the British Red Telephone Box http://goo.gl/ZRiJb
• 03-08-2012Watch my interview with ABC News' Julie Foudy about the British Red Telephone Box http://goo.gl/hiB06
• 31-07-2012A unique project by Suffolk villagers converts a K6 kiosk into a "colour therapy room" http://goo.gl/CJfyt
• 25-07-2012Carmarthenshire town looks to convert disused kiosk into a miniature museum http://goo.gl/fXMWt
• 21-07-2012Disused K6 telephone kiosk finds a new life as the Belbroughton Book Exchange library http://goo.gl/7MGbm
• 09-07-2012Chapel-en-le-Frith resident fights for British Telecom to restore decaying village K6 kiosk http://goo.gl/g6dAe
• 06-07-2012Rare green K6 telephone kiosk is converted into miniature art gallery in Teesdale village http://goo.gl/ndLcW
• 06-07-2012A rare K8 telephone kiosk is "rediscovered" at Manchester University in fine condition http://goo.gl/QmU8o
• 29-06-2012Scottish village telephone kiosk home to life-saving defibrillator equipment http://goo.gl/88kWP
• 19-06-2012Eighty replica 'BT ArtBox' telephone kiosks are unveiled across the streets of London http://goo.gl/4vubf
• 06-06-2012Norfolk telephone kiosk converted to coronation exhibition for the Diamond Jubilee http://goo.gl/AxSr3
• 01-06-2012Welcome to our relaunched Telephone Box website, www.the-telephone-box.co.uk http://goo.gl/nKXRP
• 25-05-2012Historic Herefordshire telephone kiosk is targeted by reckless scrap metal thieves http://goo.gl/R0fsx
• 09-05-2012Rescued iconic K6 telephone kiosks await new homes in Newark warehouse http://goo.gl/OaeyC
• 09-05-2012My website is featured in an interview on BBC Radio Cornwall's breakfast show http://goo.gl/Cq6On
• 26-04-2012British Telecom announces the sale of its surplus K6 telephone kiosks to the general public http://goo.gl/Bxbwd
• 21-04-2012Gloucestershire K6 kiosk to be converted to community art gallery for the Diamond Jubilee http://goo.gl/6tL9Q
• 13-04-2012Leicestershire village is the latest community to adopt a disused telephone kiosk from BT http://goo.gl/59kpK
• 13-04-2012Oxfordshire village telephone box home to life-saving defibrillator device http://goo.gl/3K6Z1
• 08-03-2012'British' pub in Ontario, Canada, is now complete with a K6 kiosk shipped across from the UK http://goo.gl/C1vsg
• 08-03-2012Disused West Sussex telephone kiosk becomes local information point for visitors http://goo.gl/mdUkl
• 23-02-2012Somerset parish councillors invite suggestions from villagers for uses for two adopted kiosks http://goo.gl/NwK4i
• 15-02-2012BT launches'ArtBox' using replica K6 kiosks to help raise money for the chairty Childline http://goo.gl/ZoRI7
• 02-02-2012Disused South Yorkshire telephone kiosk becomes miniature community library http://goo.gl/YEz8X
• 15-01-2012Barningham's "green" kiosk is converted into one of Britain's smallest art galleries http://goo.gl/XW8bY
• 31-12-2011Little Eaton Parish Council buys local K6 kiosk to serve as village library http://goo.gl/zkR6R
• 23-12-2011Innerleithen resident plans to use kiosk to house a life-saving defibrillator http://goo.gl/KOaO5
• 07-11-2011Glendaruel village kiosk now houses life-saving defibrillator equipment http://goo.gl/lyp41
• 06-11-2011Pub-goers in Essex village set up committee to restore village red telephone box to its former glory http://goo.gl/PqkcF
• 26-10-2011Devon village is the latest to have live-saving equipment stored in a disused red telephone box http://goo.gl/nWy3n
• 15-10-2011Rutland kiosk unveiled to the memory of Red Arrows pilot Flt Lt Jon Egging http://goo.gl/1BBpv
• 07-09-2011Gloucestershire village parish councillors alarmed as electricity bill for kiosk increases ten fold http://goo.gl/HzvZe
• 06-09-2011Northumberland village telephone box gets life-saving equipment to help cardiac arrest victims http://goo.gl/Mh6z2
• 02-09-2011South Brent residents protest at the sudden removal of village K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/H5mKR
• 02-09-2011Gloucestershire villagers are the latest community to adopt their local K6 kiosk http://goo.gl/lcGAA
• 24-08-2011In its 75th anniversary year the K6 telephone kiosk is recognised by the Design Museum http://goo.gl/Zt1ca
• 11-07-2011Cotswold village telephone kiosk latest to be fitted with life-saving heart equipment http://goo.gl/cTQxx
• 11-07-2011Village red telephone kiosk competes for the prize of Britain's smallest public house http://goo.gl/lgiDX
• 14-06-2011North Yorkshire town to consult on plans to adopt town's K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/VfZ1i
• 11-06-2011Vandals attack Grade II-listed K1 telephone kiosk in Bembridge, on the Isle of Wight http://goo.gl/hax6z
• 10-06-2011Hampshire village is the latest to turn its K6 telephone kiosk into a library http://goo.gl/CPWAI
• 03-06-2011Derbyshire residents become the latest village to turn their K6 kiosk into a library http://goo.gl/mVRIy
• 28-05-2011North Yorkshire residents convert disused K6 kiosk into a local village store http://goo.gl/xHCHo
• 09-05-2011Devon villagers present K6 kiosk to their 'twin' village of Commes in Normandy, France http://goo.gl/efDkg
• 05-05-2011Surrey telephone box converted by villagers to miniature local library http://goo.gl/YSjfN
• 03-05-2011Northumberland village of Ovington adopts local K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/G3fRl
• 29-04-2011London-based artist Lizzie Allen produces Telephone Box wallpaper http://goo.gl/B1jJY
• 28-04-2011New Forest disused telephone kiosk becomes miniature community store http://goo.gl/D6al9
• 28-04-2011Disused kiosk in Essex village transformed into a tourist information centre http://goo.gl/DELpW
• 27-04-2011West Sussex village becomes the latest community to 'Adopt a Kiosk' http://goo.gl/kaxJX
• 21-04-2011Somerset telephone box converted to local information point http://goo.gl/h2S8T
• 15-04-2011Somerset telephone box converted to miniature local library http://goo.gl/PKUlP
• 24-03-2011Use of telephone kiosks by general public in Wales plummets over last couple of years http://goo.gl/L3jxB
• 10-03-2011Cornish village telephone box transformed into local lending library http://goo.gl/xAeJF
• 20-02-2011Listed pair of K6 kiosks in Manchester's St Peter's Square to be restored http://goo.gl/cjXkL
• 15-02-2011Local community in Penycae joins together to adopt a under-used K6 kiosk http://goo.gl/pjN9Z
• 29-01-2011Isle of Man K6 kiosk to be restored to former glory for museum display http://goo.gl/PnB54
• 21-01-2011Wiltshire village telephone kiosk fitted with life saving defibrillator equipment http://goo.gl/9fyOq
• 20-12-2010Peterborough kiosk finds a new 21st century use as a 'cash machine' http://goo.gl/Ryo91
• 20-12-2010K6 telephone box deliberately destroyed in senseless hit-and-run incident http://goo.gl/3xSgp
• 10-12-2010Tuition fees protestors wreck Parliament Square K2 and K6 kiosks http://goo.gl/Ybssp
• 30-10-2010Pioneering scheme uses telephone kiosk to house life-saving equipment http://goo.gl/KsSWq
• 19-10-2010Telephone kiosk on Bath's Royal Crescent given protected listed status http://goo.gl/ol6nL
• 12-10-2010Disused K6 telephone kiosk turned into a mini art exhibition installation http://goo.gl/2FKC2
• 21-09-2010K6 telephone kiosk becomes local village lending library in North Yorkshire http://goo.gl/fivap
• 03-09-2010Telephone kiosk brings new meaning to the word 'convenience' http://goo.gl/xXKcb
• 30-07-2010North Somerset villagers turn telephone kiosk into mini lending library http://goo.gl/1c72G
• 24-07-2010Draughton kiosk becomes grocery store for villagers in the Yorkshire Dales http://goo.gl/K1n5f
• 06-04-2010North Yorkshire villagers fight to keep telephone in telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/Exmhr
• 16-03-2010Vandals senselessly attack Folkestone telephone kiosk art installation http://goo.gl/tGxk2
• 22-01-2010CADW provides grant to restore 'Tardis' police box in Newport village http://goo.gl/J9YW3
• 10-12-2009Red telephone kiosk set to return to the village of Hampstead Norreys http://goo.gl/rJLyp
• 07-12-2009Winners announced in competition to find new uses for old telephone kiosks http://goo.gl/lVpQc
• 29-11-2009Somerset telephone kiosk gets a new lease of life as a lending library http://goo.gl/VPI75
• 18-11-2009British Telecom launches a new initative to help communities 'Adopt a Kiosk' http://goo.gl/jJKzF
• 19-10-2009Local Surrey council fights to 'save' telephone kiosks for residents http://goo.gl/JwCyX
• 23-09-2009Shropshire hamlet fights back against British Telecom's new kiosk regime http://goo.gl/o35jA
• 17-07-2009First Bruce Martin-designed K8 kiosk given protected listed status by English Heritage http://goo.gl/SwZ5N
• 11-07-2009North Yorkshire miniature art gallery opens in disused K6 telephone kiosk http://goo.gl/X0xRK
• 08-04-2009Cumbrian village buys red telephone box for the local community http://goo.gl/YCYqM
• 05-03-2009Somerset villagers buy disused telephone kiosk for the local community http://goo.gl/qD3Mz
• 30-01-2009Campaign saves disused kiosks for residents in south east Cornwall http://goo.gl/NRvOa
• 29-12-2008Royal Mail celebrates the K2 telephone kiosk in a series of stamps http://goo.gl/Pmgsn

The Telephone BoxA-Z of facts

• A Aluminium - the material used experimentally, and unsuccessfully for the K7. The finish of the K7 quickly became discoloured in the British climate.
• B Bromsgove - the location of the National Telephone Kiosk Collection at the Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings in the Worcestershire town.
• C Concrete - used to construct the K1, K3 and K5 kiosks; concrete was relatively cost-efficient but more susceptible to damage in transit.
• D Dome - the roof of the Gilbert-Scott kiosks featured a characteristic domed roof, said to be inspired by the tomb of architect Sir John Soane.
• E Eighteen - the number of panes of glass on one side of a K2; fifty four were used in total. The K6 kiosk had seventy-two pieces in total; the K8 kiosk just three.
• F Fifty - the number of K4 'Post Office' kiosks produced compared to a total of 60,000 K6 kiosks produced, proving the K4 experiment was a failure.
• G Gilbert-Scott - the designer of the K2, K3 and K6 was British architect Sir Giles Gilbert-Scott (born November 9th 1880, died February 8th 1960).
• H Hull - the only part of Britain with an independent telephone company, the company installed white, crown-less Gilbert-Scott K6 kiosks.
• I Iron - cast iron was used to manufacture the K2, K4 and K6. Cast-iron kiosks were more expensive to produce than concrete kiosks like the K1 and K3 kiosks.
• J Jubliee - To commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935 the Post Office commissioned the design of a new kiosk, the K6, by Gilbert-Scott.
• K Kiosk - The proper name for a Telephone Box is a 'Kiosk'; abbreviated to 'K' for all eight kiosk variants produced under Post Office ownership.
• L Liverpool - Gilbert-Scott's finest achievement is Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral built from 1903, consecrated in 1924 and finally finished in 1980.
• M Martin - Bruce Martin designed the K8 kiosk. His remarkable design consisted of just 183 parts compared to 450 pieces for the K6.
• N Nine - Tke K2 kiosk was nine feet, three inches, or 280cm, in height. This compares with a height of 8ft 3in, or 250cm, for the K6.
• O One - the first national telephone kiosk was designated Kiosk No 1, or K1. There were three versions of the K1, the Mk234, 235 and 236.
• P Piccadilly - The wooden prototype of Gilbert-Scott's winning kiosk design survives in Burlington House on Piccadilly in central London.
• Q Queen - two K6 kiosks were transported 14,559 miles aboard the Cunard Queen Mary sailing from Southampton, around Cape Horn to Long Beach.
• R Red - kiosks were painted British Standard BS381C red 538 until the K8 kiosk when BS381C red 539 was subsequently adopted, and applied to older kiosks.
• S Silver - the exterior colour originally proposed by Gilbert-Scott, complimented with a blue-green interior. The Post Office choose red, both inside and out.
• T Tudor - K6s installed before the coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II carried the Tudor crown; later K6s have the St Edward's Crown, or the Scottish Crown.
• U Unmistakable - the red Telephone Box is an icon of Britain; London tourists can buy K6 money boxes, key-rings, postcards and trinkets.
• V Vermillion - the 1927 K4 kiosk, designed by Post Office engineers, was unfavourably nick-named the Vermillion Giant due to its size.
• W Westminster - the first K8 telephone kiosk was installed on Friday 12 July 1968 at Westminster's Old Palace Yard in London.
• X X - the K-suffix used to denote post-privatisation kiosk models, KX100 onwards, introduced by the Post Office's successor, British Telecom.
• Y Yellow - following the formation of British Telecom some kiosks were repainted yellow, but this proved unpopular with the British public.
• Z Zoo - A rather unlikely place to find a rare K3 telephone kiosk is the safe surroundings of London's Regent Park Zoo Parrot House.