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Restored Telephones >> Red Telephone
Boxes
Beautifully restored British red telephone
boxes,
with a choice of interiors, delivered to your door ...
Need urgent UK
Delivery? Usually no problem, and no extra
charge. For advice
on buying a TELEPHONE BOX, call us 7 days a week
on UK Freephone 0800 01 88844
Of the many things that spring to mind that
epitomise Britain, the good old red telephone box is up
there with the best. To many, the red telephone box is as
symbolic of Britain as fish and chips or a stick of Blackpool
Rock. Sadly these images of Britain are becoming rarer every
day. Each kiosk acquired by us is lovingly restored back
to it’s original condition; a process that requires hard
work and complete dedication. We believe our standard of
work and restoration is one of the highest available in
the marketplace, and the price tag we attach to it...one
of the lowest. If you have ever thought of buying your own
“little bit of Britain”, you can take comfort in the fact
that we are well versed in fulfilling your request and,
if you decide to buy through us, you will be delighted with
your purchase. We offer a total bespoke service from customised
renovations to the logistics of placing your phone box exactly
where you need it.
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| INTERIORS EXPLAINED: |
| Basic Interior |
Reproduction Interior |
Jubilee Interior |
The basic interior consists of a simple black 1-piece wallboard.
This serves as a useful mount for anything you might wish
to install into your telephone box. |
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For an
additional cost of £ 495.00,
we can also supply an original bakelite telephone for an
additional cost. It consists of the following:
- Black laminated wallboard
- Polished steel notice frames with copies of original
notices and advertisements
- Beveled mirror
- Black telephone and parcel/directory shelf
enlarge
image |
For an
additional cost of £ 1,570.00,
in our view the best layout that is available, in operation from 1936 to the mid 1950s - it consists
of the following:
- Black laminated 2 piece wallboard
- Polished steel notice frames with copies of original
notices and advertisements.
- Beveled mirror
- 1 pair black laminated telephone and parcel/directory
shelves
- Restored original A & B coin collection box, complete
with keys
- Restored and operational black bakelite Telephone
enlarge
image |
A brief history of the Red
Telepone Box
 The
United Telephone Company introduced the first freestanding
call "offices". These were small wooden huts where a three-minute
call could be made for "tuppence" (less than 1p). Not all
of these had a coin box mechanism; some operated by a penny-in-the-slot
mechanism on the door whilst others had a fee collect by
an attendant. By 1906 these were operated by the National
Telephone Company and were known as kiosks. The Post Office
took over in 1912 and, although they made improvements to
the interiors, there was no standard format for the kiosks.
In 1921 they introduced the first standard phone box. Kiosk
No. 1 (K1), which was primarily intended for use as an open-air
public call office in rural areas. It was similar in design
to the old wooden call offices but was made up from reinforced
concrete and the roof featured a wrought ironwork spear
and scrolls. Although very elegant it was considered that
a better design could be found. < Home / 2 > In 1924 The
Post Office organised a competition requesting leading architects
to submit ideas for a new cast-iron kiosk. The winning design
was by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) who was responsible
for the design of Liverpool Cathedral. The bright red colour
of the K2 was first seen on the streets in 1926 but proved
to be too costly to introduce nationwide. Only 1,500 were
made which were restricted to London. The Post Office needed
a design that was economical enough to be used outside of
London so Scott designed the K3 as a variation of the K2.
This was made out of reinforced concrete and cost half the
price of the K2. They were first introduced in 1927 and
painted in cream, which was considered more in keeping with
rural settings. More than 12,000 K3 kiosks were installed
nationwide but due to their concrete construction these
proved to be fragile. |
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