Hull’s cream-coloured phone boxes given Grade II-listed status

source - Wikimedia Commons/kitmasterbloke

Hull’s cream-coloured phone boxes given Grade II-listed status

Well here we go, straight back in the saddle with this latest article about a rare variant of an already-endangered piece of technology - the public call box.

In this instance the phone boxes in question are not the earlier, more famous Giles Gilbert Scott-designed glass-and-metal K2 to K6 series of red boxes but rather the later K8 design from the pen of architect Bruce Martin, which were introduced across Great Britain in the late 1960s to supplement the existing 50,000-odd K2 and K6 boxes that were still prevalent at the time.

source - Wikimedia Commons/Oxyman

Markedly different from the designs that had come before it, the K8 boasted a modern light and airy Sixties feel thanks to large single panes of glass bereft of any intricate metalwork.  Intended to be easier to repair and maintain, over 11,000 K8s were installed up and down the country - only replacing existing K2s and K6s where absolutely necessary.  While many continued in service over the next 20 years or so, the design ultimately never gained as much appeal as the iconic red boxes that came before it.  It's only really lasting claim to fame is that it sported a slightly different shade of crimson - "Poppy Red" - one which went on to become the standard colour and was retrospectively applied to all existing boxes throughout the country.  However, the design's supposed strength over its predecessors - its ease of maintenance - was ultimately outweighed by the frequency of repairs as a result of vandalism.  Allied to the fact that it actually cost more to manufacture than the older models, a great number were subsequently replaced by the (rightly) unloved KX-series following the creation of British Telecom after the privatisation of the GPO in the 1980s.   As of 2023, a mere fifty-odd K8s still exist around Britain - some, I'm pleased to note, already with listed status.

source - Wikimedia Commons/Tim Green

Rare K8 phone boxes in Hull awarded listed status

Unusual among these few remaining K8s are the handful still to be found in the city of Hull, which was (and still is) the only place in England where the telephone network was run by either the local council or a private provider and not the GPO/ BT.  As a result, all Hull's phone boxes were painted not the traditional red but a rather fetching shade of cream to reflect their independence from the national network.  Now I am pleased to see that nine of these surviving boxes have been given Grade-II listed status by Historic England, hopefully preserving them for future generations to at least see what we used - and sometimes still use - before the advent of the mobile telephone (for, I am delighted to note, these particular boxes continue to fulfil their original function, containing as they do working telephones which must also now be preserved in working order).  

I join with the Twentieth Century Society and the people of Hull in celebrating this decision, which gives me great hopes for the future of all the remaining 10,000 or so phone boxes in this country, that there will never come a time when we have none left. 

Villagers make stained-glass NHS window for phone box

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Villagers make stained-glass NHS window for phone box

There have been many wonderfully inspiring stories to come out of this current crisis from all around the world (not least the phenomenal fund-raising efforts of top chap Captain - and now soon to be Sir - Tom Moore), which have all served to lighten the mood of the planet, giving us all faith in humanity and hope for better days to come.  Far too many in fact to feature on this blog, in fact (instead I direct your attention to the Sunny Skyz website, which is just the sort of thing I was looking for when I first set up Eclectic Ephemera but which does the good news motif so much better than I could have hoped to).

This article from last month, though, particularly caught my attention with its vintage bent, featuring as it does a favourite design classic of mine and a sadly fast-disappearing piece of historic technology - the red telephone box.

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As someone who has recently seen three kiosks removed from my local area - sadly including a timeless K6 - it always makes my heart sing when I see one of those traditional red boxes hanging on in some corner of the country or being adopted by the community and given a fresh purpose such as a library, cash machine, art gallery or as in this case to house a defibrillator.  I myself have a wild idea for re-purposing a K6 call box, but that's something for another post!

Inspired by a similar story from Suffolk a few years ago, the 'phone box in this instance, in the town of Crich in Derbyshire, also has the additional feature of hand-painted stained-glass windows with scenes and representations of local life and businesses replacing the old glass.  Now added to the existing panes is a new image honouring the exemplary work being done by the NHS and a fine example of the art it is too.  Created by retired nurse Kate Richmond, who took stained-glass lessons (and well worth it, by the looks of things), and other members of the local community it is especially significant not only in light of the current situation but also of Mrs Richmond's previous job and the kiosk's new purpose as home to a defibrillator.

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Mr & Mrs Richmond and the people of Crich are to be commended for coming up with a charming and representative tribute not only to their local area but also the wider national effort and in a way that adds to the existing appearance of a lasting design.  Long may it continue to exist and serve the people of Crich and - if more red 'phone boxes must lose their original purpose - inspire others to save them in a similar manner.