The result was the K6, the first kiosk that could be found in both big cities and tiny hamlets. There was still no standard kiosk that could be used throughout the country and King George Vs Silver Jubilee in 1935 prompted the GPO to try again at standardisation.Īgain the architect was Giles Gilbert Scott, who was tasked with making a K2 that was the size of a K3. The cast iron K2 proved that this material was more durable than the easily broken and stained concrete used on the K3. UK PHONEBOX OUTLINE SERIESThe first of the K series of kiosks appearing in 1920. In 1912 the General Post Office (GPO) took over the operation of phone boxes and started the process of complete standardisation. Of interest to note is that lots of these boxes required payment to enter, and some even had attendants! We are fortunate enough at Avoncroft to have the last known ‘Norwich’ Kiosk which is currently awaiting conservation. The National Telephone Company (NTC) had three types of kiosks known now as the ‘Norwich’, ‘Birmingham’ and ‘Wilson’ patterns. There was some standardisation that followed. These came in multiple shapes and sizes and often looked like decorative Arbours with thatched roofs and stained glass. But the history of these boxes, or kiosks to give them their proper name, is much more interesting than the casual observer may think.Įarly phone kiosks were strange devices that were more like garden sheds than the phone boxes we think of today. The telephone box is as much an icon to Britain as the Houses of Parliament. Courtesy Avoncroft Museum Nick Sturgess, Head of Collections and Interpretation at Avoncroft Museum, takes us through their wonderful collection of K telephone boxes dating from the 1920s through to the 1980s
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