The red telephone booths

Who hasn't seen a red telephone box, whether on a trip to the UK, in a film, a TV series, or even a photograph? These boxes are among the country's symbols, just like Big Ben, the Union Jack, Queen Elizabeth II, and so on. They're everywhere, especially in London where they're impossible to miss! In fact, according to a 2015 survey, the red telephone box is the British people's favourite object, just ahead of the red double-decker buses. Clearly, the English love red! Despite their immense popularity, few people know their origin and history. That's why we decided to write this article to tell you the story of these famous boxes, along with a few unusual anecdotes.

THE ORIGIN

The first British telephone box appeared in Kingston upon Hull, an English town, in 1920. However, it bore little resemblance to the ones we know today. White and less stylish, only the door and window frames were red. The Post Office, the company responsible for the phone boxes, then organised a competition in 1924. Their aim was to create a more attractive model that could be installed in London. The winner was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, with his design featuring the phone boxes we know today. His creation was installed throughout London and the surrounding areas within a few years. The rest of the country had to make do with the first version for the time being.

There have been a few modifications over the years. But only the last one was truly revolutionary. In 1935, Giles Scott simplified his design into a new, lighter, smaller version with more modern lines. This is the version that became popular throughout the country, and the one that remains the most common today.
And why red? Its creator initially envisioned a silver-grey colour, but Post Office opted for red. The sole reason is visibility. The booths are indeed visible from afar thanks to this colour.

Then, as in France, telephone booths gradually fell into disuse. The arrival of landline telephones in homes, followed by mobile phones, definitively ended the concept. The booths are still functional but are being dismantled little by little. Except for some of them, which have met a much more interesting fate…

THE UNUSUAL CABINS

Phone booths regularly come up for sale, starting at £2,000. But cities can also buy them back from the phone company for the modest sum of £1. Some creative types have taken full advantage of this. From new concepts to works of art, here's a best-of selection of the most successful repurposing:

– Library booths. These can be found in North Cadbury, Somerset, and in over 150 other locations. The full list is available here .
– An art gallery. The town of Settle, in North Yorkshire, has transformed a phone booth into an art gallery where works by artists and photographers are exhibited.
– A booth for charging your mobile phone using solar panels. They were repainted green for the occasion.
– A pastry booth in Caldich, where locals can come and buy cupcakes, millionaire shortbreads and other sweets.
– A phone booth grocery store in Draughton. After the village grocery store closed, residents had to find an alternative way to shop. That's when they converted the phone booth into a mini-grocery store selling basic necessities.
– A contemporary artwork called “Out of Order”. In London, several phone booths were reused by David Mach to create a domino effect.

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THE DIFFERENT MODELS

We all know the iconic red phone booth. The very one that proudly stands on the streets of London. But before arriving at this latest version, created in 1935, the red phone booths underwent numerous evolutions. The main models are numbered from K1 to K6, but there are also some lesser-known variations. Here are a few examples of the booth models:

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Cabins outside the United Kingdom?

The phone booths weren't limited to the United Kingdom. Many can be found outside the country's borders. British territories, former colonies, historical references… the reasons for their unusual presence are varied.

– There are about ten red phone booths in the United States. One of them is at Epcot, one of the theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort, dedicated to world cultures. It can be found, of course, in the United Kingdom pavilion of the park.
– There is a phone booth located in France, in the town of Chinon in Indre-et-Loire
– In the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey, several can be found repainted in yellow or blue
– In Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, there are also phone booths in several locations throughout the city
– In Porto, there are a few cabins in usable condition. Some have even been slightly redecorated.