Telephone Box – updated article

An original red telephone box is an increasingly rare but welcome site in a rural setting and we are lucky to have retained ours in the village. After being threatened with removal at the turn of the millennium, the conservation society quickly liaised with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and fast-tracked a statutory listing of the structure, which means that British Telecom (BT) were prevented from removing it. The listing also places an obligation on BT to maintain the phone box. After reports of it looking dilapidated, the conservation society liaised with BT to request they repaint it. Additionally, the phone inside was not working and so this was reported as a fault.

BT’s initial response was that it would be put on the list for redecoration but that it was likely not to be carried out until 2023. We were therefore delighted to see that they managed to fit it into their schedule for this year and, as the before and after results below demonstrate, this has made a significant improvement to the appearance of this asset to the village.

We are also pleased to see that the phone itself is now working again. Please note that the phone does not accept cash but can still be used to make reverse charge calls or with the aid of any number of calling cards available that use a toll-free access number.

Some before and after pictures: