View source for Red telephone box

{{Short description|Kiosk for a public telephone}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2013}}
[[File:Red telephone box, St Paul's Cathedral, London, England, GB, IMG 5182 edit.jpg|thumb|upright|An example of a K6, the most common red telephone box model, photographed in London in 2012.]]
The '''red telephone box''' is a [[telephone booth|telephone kiosk]] for a [[payphone|public telephone]] designed by [[Giles Gilbert Scott|Sir Giles Gilbert Scott]], the architect responsible for famous sites like [[Liverpool Cathedral]] and [[Battersea Power Station]].

The telephone box is a familiar sight on the streets of the [[United Kingdom]], its associated [[Crown Dependencies]], the [[British Overseas Territories]] and [[Malta]]. Despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, the traditional British red telephone [[kiosk]] can still be seen in many places throughout the UK, and in overseas territories, [[Commonwealth of Nations|the Commonwealth]] and elsewhere around the world. The colour red was chosen to make them easy to spot.

From 1926 onwards, the fascias of the kiosks were emblazoned with a prominent [[Crown (headgear)|crown]], representing the British Government. The red phone box is often seen as a British cultural icon throughout the world.<ref>{{cite news|last=Odone|first=Cristina|title=The trashing of the iconic red phone box is one bad call|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/9921689/The-trashing-of-the-iconic-red-phone-box-is-one-bad-call.html|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=11 March 2013}}</ref> In 2006, the K2 telephone box was voted one of Britain's top 10 design icons, which included the [[Mini]], [[Supermarine Spitfire]], [[Tube map|London tube map]], [[World Wide Web]], [[Concorde]] and the [[AEC Routemaster]] bus.<ref name="British design icons">{{cite news|title=Long list unveiled for national vote on public's favourite example of Great British Design|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/01_january/27/culture.shtml|agency=BBC|date=18 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Concorde voted the UK's top icon|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4814088.stm|work=BBC News|date=18 November 2016}}</ref> In 2009, the K2 was selected by the [[Royal Mail]] for their [[Great Britain commemorative stamps 2000–2009|"British Design Classics" commemorative postage stamp]] issue.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stamps show great British designs |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7802099.stm |access-date=30 September 2022 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

Many of the phone box designs are protected by trade mark registrations and copyright, held by British Telecommunications plc.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmowner/page/search?id=1672350&domain=1&page=15 | title=Search for a trade mark - Intellectual Property Office }}</ref> In 2019, the prototype K2, located at [[Burlington House]] in London since 1924, was [[Listed building|listed to Grade II*]] in "recognition of its iconic design status".<ref name="Listed"/>

== Design history ==
[[File:Bembridge K1 Telephone Kiosk - 4834379155.jpg|thumb|upright|K1 Telephone Kiosk at [[Bembridge]]]]

=== K1 ===
The first standard public telephone kiosk introduced by the United Kingdom [[General Post Office|Post Office]] was produced in concrete in 1921 and was designated K1 (Kiosk No.1). The Post Office had taken over almost all of the country's telephone network in 1912. Some local authorities refused to give permission for the K1; [[Eastbourne Borough Council|Eastbourne Corporation]] insisted that the kiosks could only be installed if they had thatched roofs.<ref>{{cite web|title=C20 Society welcomes Ofcom's Move to Protect Telephone Boxes|url=https://c20society.org.uk/news/c20-society-welcomes-ofcoms-move-to-protect-telephone-boxes|website=Twentieth Century Society|access-date=24 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Linge |first1=Nigel |last2=Sutton |first2=Andy |author1-link=Nigel Linge |title=The British Phonebox |date=2017 |publisher=Amberley Publishing |location=Stroud, England |isbn=9781445663098 |page=15}}</ref> The design of the K1 was not of the same family as the familiar red telephone boxes. As of 2021, there remain fourteen K1 boxes in the UK, including seven that are in museums and museum collections. A further two remain in the Republic of Ireland. Seven of the UK's fourteen have been [[listed building|listed]] at Grade II by [[Historic England]], some of them still located on British streets,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/sitesearch?terms=K1%20TELEPHONE%20KIOSK&pageSize=undefined&searchtype=sitesearch |title=Search Results for K1 TELEPHONE KIOSK |publisher=Historic England |access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref> including one situated in [[Trinity Market]] in [[Kingston-upon-Hull]],<ref>{{NHLE |num=1219597 |desc=K1 Telephone Kiosk in Market Hall |grade=II |access-date=22 November 2017 }}</ref> and another in [[Bembridge]] High Street, [[Isle of Wight]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1365354 |desc=K1 Telephone Kiosk located outside the options [''sic''] |grade=II |access-date=22 November 2017 }} The kiosk is in fact outside the former optician's, now Captain Stan's Fish Shop, 5 High Street.</ref>

=== K2 ===
[[File:Prototype K2 telephone kiosk to western side of entrance portal of Burlington House.jpg|thumb|upright|Prototype K2 at [[Burlington House]] (home of the [[Royal Academy of Arts]]) in London]]

The red telephone box was the result of a competition in 1924 to design a kiosk that would be acceptable to the London Metropolitan Boroughs which had hitherto resisted the Post Office's effort to erect K1 kiosks on their streets.<ref>Stamp 1989, pp. 4–7.</ref>

The [[Royal Fine Art Commission]] was instrumental in the choice of the British standard kiosk. Because of widespread dissatisfaction with the GPO's design, the Metropolitan Boroughs Joint Standing Committee organised a competition for a superior one in 1923, but the results were disappointing. [[The Birmingham Civic Society]] then produced a design of its own—in reinforced concrete—but it was informed by the Director of Telephones that the design produced by the Office of the Engineer-in-Chief was preferred; as the ''[[Architects' Journal]]'' commented, "no one with any knowledge of design could feel anything but indignation with the pattern that seems to satisfy the official mind".<ref>Stamp 1989, p. 5.</ref> [[The Birmingham Civic Society]] did not give up and, with additional pressure from the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]], the [[Town Planning Institute]] and the [[Royal Academy]], the [[Postmaster General of the United Kingdom|Postmaster General]] was forced to think again; and the result was that the RFAC organised a limited competition.

[[File:2778soaneMausoleumOldStPancrasChurchyard.jpg|thumb|left|The dome of Sir [[John Soane]]'s family mausoleum in [[St Pancras Old Church#Churchyard|St Pancras Old Churchyard]], London, may have been an inspiration for the K2's design.]]
The organisers invited entries from three respected architects and, along with the designs from the Post Office and from [[The Birmingham Civic Society]], the Fine Arts Commission judged the competition and selected the design submitted by Sir [[Giles Gilbert Scott]].<ref>New Telephone Kiosks", ''The Times'', 28 March 1925, p. 9</ref> The invitation had come at the time when Scott had been made a trustee of [[Sir John Soane's Museum]]: his design for the competition was in the classical style, but topped with a dome reminiscent of those designed by [[John Soane|Soane]] for his own family [[mausoleum]] in [[St Pancras Old Church#Churchyard|St Pancras Old Churchyard]], and for the mausoleum for Sir [[Francis Bourgeois (painter)|Francis Bourgeois]] at [[Dulwich Picture Gallery]], both in London.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/nov/23/sir-john-soane-how-tomb-for-architects-wife-inspired-the-red-telephone-box |first=Maev |last=Kennedy |author-link=Maev Kennedy |title=Sir John Soane: how tomb for architects wife inspired the red telephone box |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=23 November 2015 |access-date=27 October 2017 }}</ref> However, [[Gavin Stamp]] thinks it "unlikely" that Scott was directly inspired by either of these precedents, arguing instead that "a dome above segmental curves is, in fact, a logical solution to the geometrical problem of designing a sculptural termination to a square pillar when a flat top is not suitable".<ref>Stamp 1989, pp. 9–10.</ref>

[[File:Red Public Phone Boxes - Covent Garden, London, England - July 10, 2012.JPG|thumb|Cast iron K2 kiosks on Broad Court, [[Covent Garden]], London]]
The original wooden prototypes of the entries were later put into public service at under-cover sites around London. That of Scott's design is the only one known to survive and is still where it was originally placed, in the left entrance arch to the [[Royal Academy]] at [[Burlington House]]. In 2019, it was [[Listed building|listed to Grade II*]] in "recognition of its iconic design status".<ref name="Listed">{{cite news |title=UK's iconic first red public telephone box listed |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uks-iconic-first-red-public-telephone-box-listed |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=Gov.uk}}</ref>

The Post Office chose to make Scott's winning design in [[cast iron]] (Scott had suggested [[plain-carbon steel|mild steel]]) and to paint it red (Scott had suggested silver, with a "greeny-blue" interior) and, with other minor changes of detail, it was brought into service as the Kiosk No.2 or K2. From 1926 K2 was deployed in and around London and the K1 continued to be erected elsewhere.

=== K3 ===
The K3, introduced in 1929, again by Giles Gilbert Scott, was similar to the K2 but was constructed from [[reinforced concrete]] and intended for nationwide use. Cheaper than the K2, it was still significantly more costly than the K1 and so that remained the choice for low-revenue sites. The standard colour scheme for both the K1 and the K3 was a light stone colour, with red glazing bars.<ref>Stamp 1989, pp. 11–12.</ref> A rare surviving K3 kiosk can be seen beside the Penguin Beach exhibit at ZSL [[London Zoo]], where it has been protected from the weather by the projecting eaves and restored to its original colour scheme.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1225640 |desc=K3 Type Telephone Kiosk underneath the portals of the Parrot House, Outer Circle |grade=II |access-date=19 September 2022 }}</ref> There is another in use at [[Rhynd]] in Perthshire.<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland |num=LB17718 |desc=Rhynd Village, K3 Telephone Kiosk |access-date=19 September 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Wallbox in phone kiosk in Warrington, Cheshire, England.jpg|thumb|upright|K4 Post Office in [[Warrington]] – the vertical panels either side of the letter-slot originally housed stamp vending machines]]

=== K4 ===
The K4 (designed by the Post Office Engineering Department in 1927) incorporated a post box and machines for buying postage stamps on the exterior. Only a single batch of 50 K4 kiosks were built. Some contemporary reports said the noise of the stamp-machines in operation disturbed phone-users, and the rolls of stamps in the machines became damp and stuck together in wet weather. This has been widely repeated (including by Stamp<ref>Stamp 1989, p. 13.</ref>) but Johannessen<ref>Johannesesn 1999, p. 7.</ref> chose not to, having found no evidence to support the story. Ten survive with four in public use at [[Frodsham]], [[Warrington]], [[Whitley Bay]] and near [[Tunstall, East Riding of Yorkshire]]. A fine example of a K4 may also be found outside the station building at [[Bewdley railway station|Bewdley]] on the [[Severn Valley Railway]]. There is a fully restored K4 (including correct telephone and coin operations) at the [[Bury Transport Museum]], [[Greater Manchester]].

=== K5 ===
The K5 was a metal-faced plywood construction introduced in 1934 and designed to be assembled and dismantled and used at exhibitions. It is not known how many were produced, and there is little evidence they ever reached more than prototype stage. A replica (constructed using the original drawings) can be seen at the [[Avoncroft Museum]] ([[Bromsgrove]], Worcestershire), as part of its National Telephone Kiosk Collection.

=== K6 ===
[[File:K2 and K6 telephone boxes in Smithfield Market - geograph.org.uk - 6029023.jpg|thumb|upright|A K2 (left) and K6 (right) together in [[Smithfield Market]], London]]

In 1935 the K6 was designed to commemorate the [[Silver Jubilee of George V]]. It was consequently sometimes known as the "Jubilee" kiosk. It went into production in 1936.<ref>Stamp 1989, pp. 13–14.</ref> The K6 was the first red telephone kiosk to be extensively used outside London, and many thousands were deployed in virtually every town and city, replacing most of the existing kiosks and establishing thousands of new sites. In 1935 there had been 19,000 public telephones in the UK: by 1940, thanks to the K6, there were 35,000.<ref>Stamp 1989, p. 14.</ref>

The design was again by Scott, and was essentially a smaller and more streamlined version of the K2, intended to be produced at a considerably cheaper cost, and to occupy less pavement space. The principal differences between the two designs were:
* Size. The K6 was {{convert|8|ft|3|in|m}} tall and weighed 13.5 [[Hundredweight|cwt]] (0.69 [[tonne]]s). This compared with {{convert|9|ft|3|in|m}} and 1.25 [[ton]]s (1.27 [[tonne]]s) for the K2.
* Elements of the design were simplified and streamlined, in keeping with the "[[Streamline Moderne|moderne]]" aesthetics of the 1930s. The Grecian [[Fluting (architecture)|fluting]] was removed from the door and window surrounds, and the previously separate [[pediment]] and [[frieze]] were merged.
* The Crown motif (see [[#Crown|below]]), which had previously been pierced through the ironwork to give ventilation, was now embossed in [[bas-relief]]. A new, separate ventilation slot was provided.
* A new [[Glazing (window)|glazing]] pattern was introduced. The door and two glazed sides of the K2 each had 18 equal-sized panes of glass arranged in 6 rows of 3. In the K6 the number of rows was increased to 8, and the central column of panes was made considerably wider than those to either side. This improved visibility, and gave a more horizontal appearance to the windows, again in keeping with "moderne" principles.<ref>Stamp 1989, pp. 14–15.</ref>

[[File:K2 interior.jpg|thumb|upright|Original phone and coin box in a red telephone box]]
The K6 has since become a British icon, but it was not universally loved at the start. The red colour caused particular local difficulties and there were many requests for less visible colours. The Post Office was forced into allowing a less strident grey with red glazing bars scheme for areas of natural and architectural beauty.<ref>Stamp 1989, p. 16.</ref> Ironically, some of these areas that have preserved their telephone boxes have now painted them red. The paint colour used most widely today is known as "currant red" and is defined by a British Standard, BS381C-Red539.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Series 1, Episode 4 |series= I Never Knew That About Britain |series-link= I Never Knew That About Britain |url= https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/i-never-knew-that-about-britain/series-1/episode-4 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20140415031702/https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/i-never-knew-that-about-britain/series-1/episode-4 |url-status= dead |archive-date= 15 April 2014 |access-date= 14 April 2014 |network= [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] |date= 24 March 2014 |season= 1 |number= 4 }}</ref>

==== Kiosk installation: the early years ====
With continued demand for K6 kiosks, siting them was more widespread than ever before. A purpose built kiosk trailer was designed from 1953 to reduce the running costs of cranes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redtelephonebox.com/images/photos/trailer/pages/trailer009_jpg.htm |title=Remember When UK – restoration – GPO trailer restoration |website=Redtelephonebox.com |access-date=14 January 2010 |archive-date=19 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100519142125/http://www.redtelephonebox.com/images/photos/trailer/pages/trailer009_jpg.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Numbers installed ====
The K6 was the most abundant kiosk in the UK and its growth, from 1935, can be seen from the BT archives:
{| class="wikitable"  style="margin:1em auto; width:50%; text-align:center;"
|+
! Period
! Number
! Notes
|-
| 1925– || align=right | 1,000 || K1 only
|-
| 1930– || align=right | 8,000 || K2 & K3 added
|-
| 1935– || align=right |19,000 || K6 introduced
|-
| 1940– || align=right |35,000 ||
|-
| 1950– || align=right |44,000 ||
|-
| 1960– || align=right |64,000 ||
|-
| 1970– || align=right |70,000 || K8 introduced in 1968
|-
| 1980– || align=right |73,000 ||
|}
{{Clear}}

=== Manufacture ===
The K1 and the later K3 concrete kiosks were produced at various (and largely unrecorded) locations, around the country. This made quality control and supervision of the manufacturing process difficult, when compared to the GPO's experience with cast-iron [[post box]]es, and was an important aspect of the GPO's move towards cast-iron telephone kiosks. Over the years, five foundries were involved in this work for the Post Office. Lion Foundry in [[Kirkintilloch]], MacFarlane (Saracen Foundry), and [[Carron Company|Carron Ironworks]] near Falkirk all produced batches of the K2, the K6 and the K8.  Carron produced the single batch of K4 kiosks. The other two manufacturers were McDowall Steven and Bratt Colbran, both of which produced only relatively small batches of the pre-war Mk1 K6.

Many kiosks have been fitted with replacement backs; unmodified examples usually have the identity of their manufacturer marked on a plate on the outside at the bottom of their back panel. The only exceptions are the few Mk1 models made by Bratt Colbran, which are anonymous. A supplementary way of identifying the manufacturer is by means of casting marks on the various component parts – i.e. LF, CC, MF, MS and BC – which were used to various extents over the years. A more consistent manufacturer mark can be found at about shoulder height on the inner face of the back panel. These marks generally identify both the manufacturer and the precise model of kiosk. Up to around 1949, the year of manufacture is also included. The non-BT K6 kiosks erected later, usually painted black, are for the most part new castings from new manufacturers.

=== Crown ===
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| header =
| width = 218
| image1 = K6 telephone box crown diffrences.jpg
| width1 =
| alt1 =
| caption1 = K6s, [[Charing Cross Road]], London, showing different styles of crown: the [[Tudor Crown (heraldry)|Tudor Crown]], in use 1936–1953 (left); and [[St Edward's Crown]] on separate plate, 1955 or later (right).
| image2 = Cromarty P1070869 (2796755579).jpg
| width2 =
| alt2 =
| caption2 = K6 kiosk in [[Cromarty]] in the [[Scottish Highlands]] using the [[Crown of Scotland]]
}}

From 1926 onwards, the fascias of Post Office kiosks were emblazoned with a prominent crown, representing the British Government, of which the Post Office was an agency. The design was initially the [[Tudor Crown (heraldry)|Tudor Crown]], then in widespread use in government service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The crowns on K6 Telephone Boxes |url=https://www.thek6project.co.uk/the-crowns-on-k6-telephone-boxes/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=The K6 Project |language=en-GB}}</ref> The same crown was used in all parts of the United Kingdom and [[British Empire]]. On the K2, the design was pierced through the ironwork, and acted as a ventilation hole. On the K6, a separate ventilation slot was provided, and the crown was embossed in [[bas-relief]].<ref name="Crown">{{cite news |title=The story of the red telephone box, one of the iconic emblems of 20th century Britain |url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/the-story-of-the-red-telephone-box-one-of-the-iconic-emblems-of-20th-century-britain-238625 |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=Country Life}}</ref>

In 1953 the new Queen, [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]], decided to replace the Tudor Crown in all contexts with a representation of the actual crown used for most English, and later British, coronations, [[St Edward's Crown#Symbolic version|St Edward's Crown]]; it began to appear on the fascias of K6 kiosks.<ref name="Crown"/>

St Edward's Crown was initially used on kiosks in all parts of the United Kingdom. However, in Scotland, following [[Pillar Box War|protests over the use of English insignia]], the Post Office (like other government agencies there) began to use, from 1955, a representation of the actual [[Crown of Scotland]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Living in a box: The rise, fall and resurrection of the red telephone box |url=https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/automotive-history/living-in-a-box-the-rise-fall-and-resurrection-of-the-red-telephone-box/ |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=Hagerty.co.uk}}</ref> To accommodate the two different designs of crown on K6 kiosks, the fascia sections were cast with a slot in them, into which a plate bearing the appropriate crown was inserted before the roof section was fitted.

The crowns were originally painted the same red as the rest of the box. However, since the early 1990s, when the heritage value of red kiosks began to be widely recognised, British Telecom picked out the crowns (on both K2s and K6s) in gold paint.

Kiosks installed in [[Kingston upon Hull]] were not fitted with a crown, as those kiosks were installed by the Hull Corporation (later [[Hull City Council]], then [[Kingston Communications]]). All boxes in Hull were also painted in cream.

=== Modernisation – K7, K8 and "Croydon" ===
[[File:K8 Telephone Box Amersham station 2.jpg|thumb|upright|K8 Mk2 box at [[Amersham station]], installed as part of the London Underground's internal telephone system]]
In 1959, architect Neville Conder was commissioned to design a new box. The K7 design went no further than the prototype stage. K8, introduced in 1968, was designed by [[Bruce Martin (architect)|Bruce Martin]]. It was used primarily for new sites; around 11,000 were installed, replacing earlier models only when they needed relocating or had been damaged beyond repair. The K8 retained a red colour scheme, but it was a different shade of red: a slightly brighter "Poppy Red", which went on to become the standard colour across all kiosks.<ref name="K8">{{cite news |title="It's good to talk," says Evesham owner of vintage phone boxes |url=https://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/news/11584765.its-good-to-talk-says-evesham-owner-of-vintage-phone-boxes/ |access-date=19 January 2025 |journal=Evesham Journal}}</ref>

The K8 featured a single large glass panel on two sides and the door. While improving visibility and illumination inside the box, these were vulnerable to damage. There were two versions, the Mk1 and the Mk2, differing mainly in the detail of the roof and the surround of the 'TELEPHONE' opals.<ref name="K8"/>

In order to create a new box with easier access, lower maintenance and brighter lighting, the Post Office introduced a prototype run of "Croydon" telephone boxes from 1972, so-named as they were erected in [[Croydon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.henderson-tele.com/kiosk/kiosk/k7.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611142055/http://www.henderson-tele.com/kiosk/kiosk/k7.html|archive-date=11 June 2015|title=Petra Caroline's VTM kiosk – section Croydon|last=Henderson|first=Petra Caroline|url-status=usurped|website=henderson-tele.com}}</ref> The Croydon boxes, painted bright yellow with a black handset silhouette, were erected as an experimental prototype to replace the red telephone boxes. However, although the trials were successful, the quality of the materials and design made it too expensive for the Post Office to mass-produce, and the design was not adopted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.connected-earth.com/Journeys/Communicationsonthelandscape/Buildingsandplaces/Telephonekiosks/index.htm|title=Connected Earth: Telephone kiosks|website=Connected-earth.com|access-date=31 March 2018|archive-date=18 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818034443/http://www.connected-earth.com/Journeys/Communicationsonthelandscape/Buildingsandplaces/Telephonekiosks/index.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Privatisation and the KX series ===
{{See also|KX telephone boxes}}
[[File:Snow - Flickr - Myrmi.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|When [[BT Group|BT]] was privatised by the British government in 1984, existing telephone boxes retained their distinctive  red colour (K6 pictured in Cambridge, England in 2007), and around 2,000 of them were given [[listed building|listed status]].]]
In 1980, in preparation for [[privatization|privatisation]], Post Office Telephones was [[rebrand]]ed as [[British Telecom]] (BT). In February 1981, the Daily Telegraph mistakenly announced that all the red telephone boxes would be repainted yellow, which was BT's new corporate colour. Despite the fact only 80 or so kiosks in the north West, and 4 in London had been  painted yellow as a trial, there was an immediate public outcry; the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' launched a campaign "against the yellow peril"<ref name="csmonitor">{{cite news |last=Willis |first=David K |date=25 February 1981 |title=Britain hangs on to tradition with a stiff upper lip |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0225/022560.html |newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor |location=Boston, Mass., USA |publisher=The First Church of Christ, Scientist |access-date=20 April 2014}}</ref> and questions were asked in [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]]. In the [[House of Lords]], the [[Grey Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie|Earl of Gowrie]], the Minister of State for Employment, called on BT "to abandon this ridiculous scheme".<ref>{{hansard|1981/feb/11/telephone-service-west-country-london |house=lords |access-date=20 April 2014}}</ref> In the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], [[Mark Lennox-Boyd]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] asked [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]] if she would treat the decision "with the greatest possible dismay". Thatcher, who was responsible for the privatisation, would only say that she could "see my honourable Friend's point".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104566 |title=1981 Feb 10 Tu – Margaret Thatcher – House of Commons PQs |website=Margaretthatcher.org |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |access-date=20 April 2014}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, BT announced that only 90 of the 77,000 remaining traditional boxes had been painted different colours "as an experiment" and that no final decision had been reached.<ref name="csmonitor" />

After privatisation in 1984,<ref>{{cite web |title=Privatisation |url=https://www.bt.com/bt-plc/assets/documents/about-bt/our-history/bt-archives/information-sheets-and-timelines/privatisation.pdf |website=BT Archives |access-date=12 May 2025}}</ref> British Telecom introduced the KX100, a more [[utilitarian design]], which began to replace most of the existing boxes. The KX100 was one of a series of designs, including the wheelchair-accessible open-sided KX200, and the triangular-footprint KX300.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishtelephones.com/kxkiosk.htm|title=KIOSKS – KX TYPES|website=Britishtelephones.com}}</ref> In January 1985,  Nick Kane, the Director of Marketing for BT Local Communications Services announced that the old red telephone boxes would be replaced because they "...no longer meet the needs of our customers. Few people like to use them. They are expensive and difficult to clean and maintain and cannot be used by handicapped people".<ref>Wright, Patrick (1991), [https://books.google.com/books?id=4WtnAAAAMAAJ&q=17+January+1985+%22red+telephone+boxes%22 ''A Journey Through Ruins: The Last Days of London''], OUP Oxford, {{ISBN|978-0199541942}} (p. 276)</ref> This time, BT did not relent, despite another vociferous campaign.<ref>Stamp 1989, pp. 21–25.</ref>

Many local authorities used legislation designed to protect buildings of architectural or historic importance to keep old telephone boxes in prominent locations and around 2,000 of them were given [[listed building|listed status]]. Several thousand others were left on low-revenue mostly rural sites, but many thousands of recovered K2 and K6 boxes were sold off. Some kiosks have been converted to be used as shower cubicles in private homes. In [[Kingston upon Thames]] a number of old K6 boxes were used to form a work of art resembling a row of fallen [[dominoes]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Lightfoot |first=Liz |title=Number's up for phone box sculpture |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1373337/Numbers-up-for-phone-box-sculpture.html |access-date=23 May 2019 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |place=London |date=6 November 2000}}</ref> In January 2020 it was estimated that 8,000 traditional red telephone boxes remained in public service.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.the-telephone-box.co.uk/ |title=The Telephone Box |last1=Coltman |first1=Richard |website=The-telephone-box.co.uk |access-date=20 January 2020}}</ref> The [[KX+]], better known as the KX100 PLUS, introduced in 1996 had a domed roof reminiscent of the familiar K2 and K6. Subsequent designs departed significantly from the old-style red boxes. BT followed the KX series with the Multi.phone in 1999 and the [[ST6 public telephone|ST6]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redphonebox.info/history.html |title=A brief history of the telephone box |first=Robert |last=Ore |website=A pictorial guide to telephone boxes |access-date=19 January 2025}}</ref>

=== InLinkUK ===
{{Main|LinkUK}}
BT is one of the partners in InLinkUK, a communications service intended to replace over 1,000 payphones in major UK cities. The InLink stations, renamed "Street Hubs" by BT after InLinkUK Ltd failed,<ref>{{cite web | last=Jackson | first=Mark | title=ISP BT Launch Next Gen UK WiFi Street Hub Kiosks with 5G Boost | website=ISPreview UK | date=3 June 2021 | url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/06/isp-bt-launch-next-gen-uk-wifi-street-hub-kiosks-with-5g-boost.html}}</ref> provide free public Wi-Fi, phone calls and device charging.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inlinkuk.com/|title=Free ultrafast Wi-Fi. And that's just the beginning|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021155443/https://www.inlinkuk.com/|archive-date=21 October 2017|website=InLinkUK}}</ref>

== Later use ==
[[File:"K" telephone box, Carrickfergus - geograph.org.uk - 3759656.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|K6 in [[Carrickfergus]] high street, Northern Ireland in 2013]]
In 1990, phone boxes peaked at about 100,000. In 2021, 21,000 remained in use. Regulator [[Ofcom]] has protected 5,000 public phone boxes around the UK from closure where there are high accident rates—e.g. mountain rescue—or poor [[mobile telephone]] coverage.<ref name=kollewe/> Some are required to have battery support in case of [[power cut]]s. Ofcom's criteria to protect a phone box from removal are: its location is not covered by all four main mobile networks; or it is located at an accident or suicide hotspot; or at least 52 calls have been made from it over the past 12 months; or exceptional circumstances require a public call box. BT and Kcom, which maintain phone boxes, could propose to remove boxes that did not meet one of these criteria, subject to formally consulting local communities first.<ref name=kollewe>{{cite news| last=Kollewe | first=Julia | title=Thousands of UK phone boxes to be protected from closure | newspaper=The Guardian | date=9 November 2021 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/nov/09/uk-phone-boxes-bt-poor-mobile-coverage}}</ref> After [[Storm Arwen]] in 2021 communities lost power and mobile phone service, and reported that they wished they still had their phone box.<ref name="elmhirst" />

Payphone use had dropped from about 800 million minutes in 2002 to 7 million in 2020, as 96% of UK adults had a mobile phone. In the year to May 2020 about 5 million calls were made from phone boxes, with 150,000 to [[emergency service]]s, 25,000 to protection service [[ChildLine]], and 20,000 to the suicide protection service [[Samaritans (charity)|Samaritans]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Calling all payphone users: thousands of call boxes set for protection |url=https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/phone-boxes/thousands-of-call-boxes-set-for-protection/ |access-date=17 January 2025 |publisher=Ofcom}}</ref>

[[File:Converted K6 telephone box on Bridge Street, Chester.jpg|thumb|upright|K6 converted into an [[ATM]] in Chester, Cheshire]]
As organisations can buy a red phone box for £1 for other uses, over 6,000 have been converted to community libraries, to house public defibrillators, and for other purposes.<ref name="kollewe" /> BT has converted some into [[ATM|cash machines]] (ATMs).<ref>{{cite news |title=Second calling: New lives for red telephone boxes |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36148287 |access-date=10 May 2025 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> One has been converted into an aquarium. Some boxes are rented out for an initial fee of thousands of pounds, then perhaps £400 a month—box with plenty of passing traffic can be a good place to make sales from.<ref name="elmhirst" />

Phone boxes have always been unprofitable, even in their heyday, and more so following the collapse in usage; vandalism was common, and boxes full of money an invitation to theft.<ref name=elmhirst>{{cite news| last=Elmhirst | first=Sophie | title=The last phone boxes: broken glass, cider cans and – amazingly – a dial tone | newspaper=The Guardian | date=28 April 2022 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/28/last-phone-boxes-bt-payphones-uk}}</ref>

=== Adoption ===
Little-used red telephone boxes can be adopted<ref>{{citation |title=Adopt a Kiosk |url=http://www.payphones.bt.com/adopt_a_kiosk/HTML/payphone/index.htm |publisher=British Telecom |access-date=13 March 2010 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103045642/http://www.payphones.bt.com/adopt_a_kiosk/HTML/payphone/index.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> by [[parish councils in England]] for other uses. Some examples are shown below. The kiosk may be used for any legal purpose other than telephony and the contract of sale<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.payphones.bt.com/adopt_a_kiosk/HTML/payphone/download.htm |title=Adopt a Kiosk &#124; BT.com |website=Payphones.bt.com |date=12 April 2011 |access-date=29 November 2013 |archive-date=20 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420190706/http://www.payphones.bt.com/adopt_a_kiosk/HTML/payphone/download.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> includes the following clause 5.5.4:
<blockquote>The buyer shall covenant not to sell, lease or license the Goods to a competitor to the Seller nor to permit a competitor to install electronic communications apparatus (as defined in schedule 2 of the [[Telecommunications Act 1984]]) within the Goods or itself (as the Buyer) shall not install,  provide or operate any form of electronic communications apparatus (as defined in schedule 2 of the Telecommunications Act 1984) within the Goods.</blockquote>
It is likely that BT wishes to prohibit the kiosk from being re-used for electronic communications because they retain trade mark rights in the boxes in relation to telecommunication services and such use might be assumed to be provided by BT, which would confuse consumers as to the source of the services provided. In the US, there is an active movement seeking new telecom uses for little-used [[telephone booths]], for example as [[wi-fi hotspot]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/20/tech/innovation/pay-phone-comeback/ |title=Is the pay phone making a comeback? |website=CNN |date=20 December 2012 |access-date=30 November 2013}}</ref>

=== Libraries ===
[[File:Phone box library, Whitwell, IW, UK.jpg|thumb|upright|Decommissioned phone box converted into a mini-library, [[Whitwell, Isle of Wight|Whitwell]], Isle of Wight, England]]
During 2009 a K6 in the village of [[Westbury-sub-Mendip]] in Somerset was converted into a library or book exchange replacing the services of the [[mobile library]] which no longer visits the village.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/nov/30/phone-box-mini-library-somerset|title=Ringing the changes: phone box becomes mini-library|last=Morris|first=Steven|date=30 November 2009|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=1 December 2009 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/8385313.stm|title=Phone box has new life as library|work=BBC News|access-date=1 December 2009 | date=29 November 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Phone-box-s-new-calling/article-1518328-detail/article.html|title=Phone box's new calling|date=16 November 2009|publisher=This is Somerset|access-date=1 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213023538/http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Phone-box-s-new-calling/article-1518328-detail/article.html|archive-date=13 December 2009}}</ref> Similar libraries now exist in the villages of [[North Cadbury]] in Somerset, [[Great Budworth]] in Cheshire and other locations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cheshirelife.co.uk/out-about/is_this_the_tiniest_library_in_cheshire_1_2371982 |title=Is this the tiniest library in Cheshire? |newspaper=Cheshire Life |date=10 September 2013 |access-date=14 June 2014}}</ref> One such box was donated by [[Cumbernauld]]'s town twinning association and installed as a library in [[Bron]], France.<ref>{{cite news|title=Twin town's gift keeps on giving|url=https://www.cumbernauld-news.co.uk/news/health/twin-town-s-gift-keeps-on-giving-1-4499632|access-date=15 December 2017|website=Cumbernauld-news.co.uk|language=en}}</ref> The Telephone Box Book Exchange in Cutnall Green opened in June 2016.

Another K6 stands in [[Barga, Tuscany|Barga]], Italy, where it is used as a [[BookCrossing]] library. It was donated in 2008 by a couple from [[Edinburgh]], Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Red Telephone Box|url=https://www.visitbarga.com/en/be-inspired/see-do/the-red-telephone-box/|access-date=2021-03-18|website=VisitBarga.com|language=en-GB}}</ref>

In [[Birgu|Vittoriosa]], [[Malta]] a K6 has also been converted into a mini-library.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Greetings from Birgu. |url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g674784-i597863072-Birgu_Vittoriosa_Island_of_Malta.html |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=Tripadvisor.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Art gallery ===
Also in 2009, the town of [[Settle, North Yorkshire|Settle]] in North Yorkshire established the Gallery on the Green in a K6, which had been adopted by the Parish Council. The Gallery has featured a range of exhibitions of both notable artists and photographers (Tessa Bunney, Martin Parr, Mariana Cook) and local community groups. Its most famous contributor was Brian May, with his stereoscopic photography show 'A Village Lost and Found'.

=== Defibrillator ===
[[File:Brent Pelham phone and post box Hertfordshire England.jpg|thumb|upright|Defibrillator phone box, [[Brent Pelham]], Hertfordshire]]
Following a competition by a [[Girlguiding|Girl Guide]] unit in 2011 to find a use for their local disused telephone box in [[Glendaruel]], [[Argyll]], it has been fitted with a [[defibrillator]]. The equipment can be accessed only by following instructions from the [[Scottish Ambulance Service]] during an emergency call. The conversion of the box was paid for by BT under the Adopt A Kiosk scheme and the defibrillator was supplied by the Community Heartbeat Trust. Similar installations have been made in many other places, including [[Loweswater (village)|Loweswater]], Cumbria,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.bt.com/news/bt-life/3000th-adopted-red-phone-box-fitted-with-defibrillator-to-help-save-lives-11364058686157|title=3,000th adopted red phone box fitted with defibrillator to help save lives|website=bt.com|access-date=31 March 2018|archive-date=12 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412110317/http://home.bt.com/news/bt-life/3000th-adopted-red-phone-box-fitted-with-defibrillator-to-help-save-lives-11364058686157|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.communityheartbeat.org.uk/convert-bt-kiosk|title=Convert a BT Kiosk – Community Heartbeat Trust|website=Communityheartbeat.org.uk|access-date=31 March 2018|archive-date=20 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020125158/https://www.communityheartbeat.org.uk/convert-bt-kiosk|url-status=dead}}</ref> Auchenblae, Aberdeenshire, [[Withernwick]], East Riding of Yorkshire, and [[Witney]], Oxfordshire.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/16177783.Life_saving_device_is_installed_in_Witney/ |title=Life-saving device is installed in Witney |newspaper=Oxford Mail |date=23 April 2018}}</ref>

=== Other ===
In 2010, in the village of [[Brookwood, Surrey|Brookwood]], Surrey, a project was initiated to restore and preserve the sole remaining K6 kiosk in the village. The kiosk had been adopted by Woking Borough Council in 2009 and a group of residents set about restoring the kiosk. This was achieved through private donations and sponsorship from local businesses.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookwood phone box restored by residents |date=10 March 2010|url=http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2067368_brookwood_phone_box_restored_by_residents_ |website=Getsurrey.co.uk}}</ref> A blog detailed the restoration.<ref>{{citation |title=Brookwood K6 Red Telephone Box Preservation|website=Brookwood6.blogspot.com |url=http://brookwoodk6.blogspot.com/ |date=15 October 2011}}</ref>

{{As of|2012}}, remanufactured units were offered for sale by X2Connect.<ref name="theguardian insley 20120426">{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/apr/26/bt-sells-phone-boxes-demand-declines | title=BT sells off phone boxes as demand declines | newspaper=[[The Guardian]] | date=26 April 2012 | access-date=31 January 2014 | author=Insley, Jill}}</ref><ref name="telegraph rainey 20120509">{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/9252219/Inside-the-red-phone-box-graveyard.html | title=Inside the red phone box graveyard | newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | date=9 May 2012 | access-date=31 January 2014 | author=Rainey, Sarah}}</ref><ref name="salvonews kay 20120808">{{cite news | url=http://www.salvonews.com/story/bts-old-red-telephone-boxes-kiosks-or-booths-to-be-sold-off-x68441x9.html | title=BT's old red telephone boxes, kiosks (or booths) to be sold off | website=SalvoNews.com | date=8 August 2012 | access-date=31 January 2014 | author=Kay, Thornton}}</ref>

From October 2014, several of London's disused K6 telephone boxes have been painted green and converted to free mobile phone chargers named Solarboxes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29455992|title=Phone boxes turn green to charge mobiles|date=2 October 2014|work=BBC News}}</ref> They have been considered an outdoor kiosk alternative to indoor chargers such as the [[Chargebox]].

== Usage elsewhere ==
[[File:jazzclub.jpg|thumb|upright|Imitation British-style box used as the entrance to a jazz club in [[Havana]], Cuba]]
Several of these distinctive telephone boxes have been installed on the [[Norman, Oklahoma]], campus of the [[University of Oklahoma]], where they continue to serve their originally intended function. Elsewhere in the United States, a few have also been installed in downtown [[Glenview, Cook County, Illinois|Glenview, Illinois]], and [[Glencoe, Illinois]]. There is also one outside the [[Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington, D.C.|British Embassy in Washington, D.C.]] A red telephone box can also be found on the Courthouse Square in [[Oxford, Mississippi]]. Two are in use in [[Tennessee]]: one is on the square in [[Collierville, Tennessee]], and the other is located next to Pepper Palace in The Village Shops shopping centre in [[Gatlinburg, Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thevillageshops.com/pepperpalace.html |title=The Village Shops |publisher=The Village Shops |access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref> A telephone box sits outside The Poppy & Parliament restaurant on the courthouse square in [[Huntsville, Alabama]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.al.com/business/2020/07/british-pub-food-gourmet-store-coming-to-downtown-huntsville.html |title=British pub food, gourmet store coming to downtown Huntsville |website=Al.com |date=27 July 2020 |access-date=2 July 2023}}</ref>

[[File:British Telephones and Mailbox - panoramio.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Two K6 telephone boxes and a [[pillar box]] at the [[United Kingdom Pavilion at Epcot]] in [[Walt Disney World Resort]].]]
A red telephone box is in use in the student centre of the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]. In addition, there is a red telephone box outside the town building (town hall/police station/post office) in the tiny mountain town of [[Rowe, Massachusetts]], which is an original installation dating back to when the town of Rowe first got telephone service. Two red telephone boxes are on display at the [[World Showcase]] area of Disney's [[Epcot]] in [[Orlando, Florida]], one located in the United Kingdom area and one in the Canada area. One is on display at English Gardens – A Place for Weddings in Winter Park close to downtown Orlando. An original K6 can also be found outside the Allied Building in Treasure Island, Florida. There are also a few red boxes at the Ellenton Outlet Mall, just off I-75, near Bradenton, Florida. These still have their original STD code cards in place and have working US [[payphone]] equipment. There is a red telephone box in Westminster, Maryland on the corner of West Main Street and Rt. 27 outside Johanson's Dining House.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.johanssonsdininghouse.com/history/index.asp |title=Johansson's Dining House • History |website=Johanssonsdininghouse.com |access-date=17 January 2008 |archive-date=14 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914225325/http://www.johanssonsdininghouse.com/history/index.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> In [[Lake Havasu City]], Arizona, a few K6s arrived when the old [[London Bridge]] was preserved there.

[[File:Cabine téléphonique décorée.jpg|thumb|upright|K6 with a [[Union Jack]] paint scheme in Corrèze, France]]
Australia and New Zealand each had their own design of red telephone box, and some examples have been preserved in sensitive or historic sites. A brief and colourful campaign was run to "save" the red telephone box in New Zealand by the [[Wizard of New Zealand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wizard.gen.nz/phonebox.html|title=The Telephone Box War – Wizard of New Zealand|date=1 February 2004|access-date=31 March 2018|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040201205336/http://www.wizard.gen.nz/phonebox.html|archive-date=1 February 2004}}</ref> Many K3 phone boxes survive in Portugal, where they were exported by the [[Anglo-Portuguese Telephone Company]], and where the climate was less harmful to their concrete fabric than in Britain.<ref>Stamp 1989, p. 12.</ref> They are a common sight, for example, in the city of [[Porto]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/6134063 |title=Phone Box in Porto &#124; Photo |website=Travelblog.org |date=28 March 2011}}</ref> British K6 phone boxes are to be found, painted green, in the centre of [[Kinsale]], a historic town in [[County Cork]] in the Republic of Ireland. Red telephone boxes are also found across [[Malta]], some islands of the [[West Indies]] such as [[Antigua]], [[Barbados]], as well as in [[Cyprus]], showing that the colonial influence is still present. In France, boxes can also be found on the border of Saint-Maurice (rue de Gravelle), close to Paris, and in the centre of the town of Chinon.<ref>{{cite web|author=Chinon |url=https://www.google.com/maps?q=chinon&hl=en&ll=47.165267,0.243931&spn=0.024392,0.131493&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=62.99906,134.648437&hnear=Chinon,+Indre-et-Loire,+Centre,+France&t=m&z=14&layer=c&cbll=47.165243,0.243918&panoid=Vf6QSStVhvQvXwezek1eww&cbp=11,253.37,,0,11.57 |title=chinon – Google Maps |website=Goo.gl |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref> In Germany, some stands in the towns of Bad Münstereifel, Bielefeld and Eppingen. [[Thames Town]], an imitation English town on the outskirts of [[Shanghai]], China includes red telephone boxes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sennett |first1=Richard |title=Construir y habitar: ética para la ciudad |date=2019 |publisher=Anagrama |location=Barcelona |isbn=978-84-339-6433-5 |page=151 |edition=1st |language=es}}</ref> In 2008, K6 telephone boxes were imported from the United Kingdom to the Israeli city of [[Petah Tikva]] and installed on its main street, Haim Ozer.<ref>{{cite news |title=Petah Tikva Imports Famed U.K. Red Phone Boxes for City Center |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2009-02-26/ty-article/petah-tikva-imports-famed-u-k-red-phone-boxes-for-city-center/0000017f-e0ce-d38f-a57f-e6de48a00000 |access-date=17 January 2025 |work=Haaretz}}</ref>

===Kingston upon Hull=== <!--Referenced from [[KCOM Group]] -->
[[File:White payphone.jpg|thumb|upright|A Hull [[Red telephone box#K6|K6]] white telephone box]][[Kingston upon Hull]] ran a municipal telephone system from 1904. There were several such municipal services in the UK, but whereas most had been brought under the Post Office monopoly by 1913, Hull's, being very efficient, was allowed to remain under the control of Hull Corporation (the city council). As a result, although the Corporation used K6 kiosks, they were painted cream and had the crown omitted from the design. The Hull telephone system was privatised in 1999 and taken over by Kingston Communications (KC; later renamed [[KCOM Group]] in 2007). In about 2007 KC removed many of the cream K6 boxes. After public complaints at the loss of heritage it was agreed that about 125 of the boxes would be retained, and they remain in use. KC also allocated limited numbers (around 1,000) for sale to the public and many were sold off even before they had been removed from service. Hull also continues to use K8 and KX100 PLUS kiosks, and in the past has used other non-GPO/BT designs. In 2023 [[Historic England]] designated nine of the cream boxes as [[Listed building|Grade II listed structures]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/mar/03/hull-cream-coloured-phone-boxes-given-grade-ii-listed-status|first=Mike|last=Brown|title=Hull's cream-coloured phone boxes given Grade II-listed status|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=3 March 2023|access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref>

=== Crown Dependencies ===
[[File:GuernseyTelephoneBox.jpg|upright|thumb|Blue telephone boxes in Guernsey in 2005]]
The telephone services of the [[Crown Dependencies]] were split at various times from the GPO.

==== Guernsey ====
[[Guernsey Telecoms]] painted its kiosks yellow with white window frames; they were repainted in blue when the company was sold to [[Cable & Wireless plc|Cable and Wireless]] in 2002.

==== Jersey ====
[[Jersey Telecom]] used locally made kiosks, painted in just yellow, or cream and yellow.<ref name="jersey-phone-boxes">
*{{cite news |title=Calls from Island phone boxes to be free |url=https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2015/04/08/calls-from-island-phone-boxes-to-be-free/ |access-date=11 May 2023 |newspaper=Jersey Evening Post |date=8 April 2015}}
*{{cite web |title=Yellow phone box on St Aubin's Promenade in St Aubin, Jersey, Channel Islands |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/yellow-phone-box-on-st-aubins-promenade-in-st-aubin-royalty-free-image/125974719 |website=Getty Images |date=21 September 2011 |access-date=11 May 2023 |language=en-us}}
*{{cite web |last1=Ratcliffe |first1=Chris J. |title=Small pleasure boats stacked next to a yellow Jersey telephone box in La Bourg, Jersey, on Saturday |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/small-pleasure-boats-stacked-next-to-a-yellow-jersey-news-photo/1232778155 |website=Getty Images |language=en-us |date=May 8, 2021}}
</ref>

==== Isle of Man ====
[[Manx Telecom]] has left its kiosks in the red colour used by its predecessors British Telecom and the GPO. The telephone box in [[Cregneash]] was temporarily painted green, but this was only for a film and the phone box is now red again.

=== Overseas territories ===
==== Cyprus ====
At least [[:File:Britse telefooncel op Cyprus.jpg|one red telephone box is present]] in [[Dhekelia]].

==== Gibraltar ====
[[Gibtelecom]] operates red kiosks of various vintages.

== UK cultural landmark ==
=== Appearance in popular culture ===
[[File:London cultural icons.jpg|thumb|Two cultural landmarks of the United Kingdom]]
A cultural icon of the UK,<ref>{{cite news |title=UK's red telephone boxes get a new lease on life at 100 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/uks-red-telephone-boxes-get-a-new-lease-on-life-at-100/a-67656814 |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=DW |quote=red telephone kiosk can still be seen in many places throughout the United Kingdom as the cultural icon reaches its centenary.}}</ref> the red telephone box has appeared in British pop culture. In music it has featured in [[Adele]]'s video for the 2015 single "[[Hello (Adele song)|Hello]]", the front cover of [[One Direction]]'s 2012 album ''[[Take Me Home (One Direction album)|Take Me Home]]'', and the back cover of [[David Bowie]]'s album ''[[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars]]'' (1972).<ref>{{cite news|title=Britain's classic red telephone boxes get a makeover|url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/britain-red-telephone-box-reinvented/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=21 June 2017}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/dial-t-telephone-z-phones-film "Dial T for telephone: an A-Z of phones on film"]. BFI. Retrieved 21 June 2017</ref> It was the subject of the 1980 single "[[Red Frame/White Light]]" by [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark|OMD]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Outrage as red phone box made famous by OMD single 'Red Frame White Light' is removed|url=https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/15485529.outrage-as-red-phone-box-made-famous-by-omd-single-red-frame-white-light-is-removed/|newspaper=Wirral Globe|first=Lauren|last=Jones|date=21 August 2017}}</ref> It also featured in [[Peter Gabriel]]’s 1993 tour [[Secret World Live]], being on stage for the opening of the show, and used in the song "Come Talk to Me". A phone receiver also features on the live album cover.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://realworldgalleries.com/swl/ |title=Secret World Live |website=Realworldgalleries.com|access-date=10 April 2024}}</ref>

In film it features in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s thriller ''[[Blackmail (1929 film)|Blackmail]]'' (1929) when Frank ([[John Longden]]) reveals a glove that Alice ([[Anny Ondra]]) left behind at the scene of a murder inside the phone box of her father’s tobacco store.<ref name="Screen">{{cite news |title=100 years of the British phone box: a design icon on screen |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/phone-box-screen |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=BFI}}</ref> It appears in a scene in the 1955 black comedy ''[[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|The Ladykillers]]'' where a motley gang of crooks led by Professor Marcus ([[Alec Guinness]]) cram into one.<ref name="Screen"/> In the gangland drama ''[[Get Carter]]'' (1971), Jack Carter ([[Michael Caine]]) makes a critical call from a phone box in his hometown.<ref name="Screen"/> In the cult black comedy ''[[Withnail and I]]'' (1987), Withnail ([[Richard E. Grant]]) calls his agent from a telephone box, and complains about its coin-operated system.<ref name="Screen"/> A red phone box near [[Scotland Yard]] appears in ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]'' (2007) as [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]] and [[Arthur Weasley]] enter the [[Ministry of Magic]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hpana.com/news.19639.html |title=New images from ''Order of the Phoenix'' |date=22 October 2006 |publisher=HPANA |access-date=22 October 2006}}</ref>

In 2016, British chef [[Gordon Ramsay]] opened a British-themed [[Fish and chips#United Kingdom|fish restaurant]] in the [[Las Vegas Strip]], with the doors to the entrance resembling the red telephone box.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gordon Ramsay's fourth Las Vegas Strip eatery: a fish-and-chips shop |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-tr-las-vegas-gordon-ramsay-fish-chips-20161012-snap-story.html |access-date=23 March 2019 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

=== Use in contemporary art ===

[[File:BT Artbox - London Calling - 2012.jpg|thumb|upright|[[BT Group|BT]]-commissioned ''[[London Calling]]'' artwork displaying [[Joe Strummer]] of [[The Clash]]]]

==== ''Out of Order'' ====
Scottish sculptor [[David Mach]] created the permanent public work ''Out of Order'' in 1989 in [[Kingston upon Thames]], London. It takes the form of a row of twelve K6 telephone boxes, the first one upright, the others gradually falling over like dominoes. It was originally intended that the last upright box was to contain a working telephone.

==== BT Artboxes ====

In 2012, [[BT Group|BT]] helped celebrate the 25th anniversary of the UK's free-phone charity [[ChildLine]] by commissioning eighty artists to design and decorate full-sized K6 replicas.<ref name="BT artwork"/> These were displayed in public spaces across London and then auctioned by Sotheby's as BT Artboxes. Artists included [[Peter Blake (artist)|Peter Blake]], [[Willie Christie]], [[David Mach]], [[Denis Masi]], [[Zaha Hadid]] and [[Ian Ritchie (architect)|Ian Ritchie]].<ref name="BT artwork">{{cite news |title=BT Artbox: Red telephone boxes with a twist |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/9332418/BT-Artbox-Red-telephone-boxes-with-a-twist.html |access-date=14 January 2025 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>

== Image gallery ==
<gallery caption="GPO/BT telephone kiosks">
File:K1 Telephone Box, Lowestoft Transport Museum, 13th June 2009.JPG|K1 Telephone Box, [[Lowestoft]] Transport Museum
File:English-telephone-box.JPG|K2 with [[Big Ben]] in the background
File:K3 Telephone Kiosk, Scotland.jpg|The only K3 Mk2 kiosk still in use, near [[Rhynd]] in [[Perth and Kinross]], Scotland
File:K6 Goathland.JPG|K6 in [[Goathland]], [[North Yorkshire]]
File:Blackpool-Great-Britain-Post-office-phone-boxes-2007.jpg|K6 telephone kiosks outside the former General Post Office, [[Blackpool]], Lancashire
File:Row of K6 telephone boxes in Preston.jpg|K6 telephone boxes in [[Preston, Lancashire]]
File:Britain's most northerly Post Office - geograph.org.uk - 5010614.jpg|[[Shetland Islands]]
File:Green Telephone Box - geograph.org.uk - 1329446.jpg|A green K6 box near [[Stokesley]] in North Yorkshire
</gallery>

<gallery caption="Non-GPO/BT kiosks in the United Kingdom">
File:Preserved Hull telephone box.JPG|Preserved [[Kingston-upon-Hull]] crown-less K6 in original Hull Corporation livery in Hull Transport Museum
File:Hull telephone box (27857173504).jpg|Kingston Communications K6 in Hull
File:K8 Golders Green.jpg|K8 housing an internal telephone at [[Golders Green tube station]]
File:KX100 PLUS Kingston Communications.jpg|Kingston Communications KX100 PLUS in Hull
File:Black telephone boxes, Piccadilly - DSC04253.JPG|Two black K6 telephone boxes in [[Piccadilly]] in the [[City of Westminster]], operated by New World Payphones Ltd
File:New World Capped telephone box.jpg|New World capped telephone booth in the [[London Borough of Lewisham]]
</gallery>

<gallery caption="British telephone kiosks around the world">
File:Red phone box - Gibraltar Botanic Gardens.jpg|A K2 box at the [[Gibraltar Botanic Gardens]]
File:Red phone boxes Antigua.jpg|K6s in [[St. John's, Antigua]]
File:Malta Valletta BW 2011-10-07 12-28-56.JPG|K6 in [[Valletta]], Malta
File:Cyprus-telephone-box.JPG|Crown-less K6s in the [[Troodos Mountains]] in Cyprus
File:PT-Phone Booth.jpg|K6 in [[Petah Tikva]], Israel
File:Red Telephone Box.jpg|Queens crown K6 at Fifth Street Public Market in [[Eugene, Oregon]]
File:Picture on University of Oklahoma campus cropped.jpg|[[University of Oklahoma]]: red K6 in front of Copeland Hall
File:Lightmatter phonebooths ( South Lake, Pasadena, California).jpg|K6 kiosks in [[South Lake, Pasadena, California]]
File:HK R10 Central 永安百貨公司 Wing On Department Store Xmas 2009 shop window models.jpg|A replica of a K6 in a British-themed shop window in [[Hong Kong]]
File:Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Percy (6).JPG|A K6 box at the {{lang|fr|Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste}} in [[Percy, Manche]] in [[Normandy]], France
File:3 telephones at Brussels Midi-Zuid.jpg|Two imitation British red telephone boxes at [[Brussels-South railway station]]
File:Former train station (Kingston, Ontario).jpg|British red phone box alongside standard [[Bell Canada]] boxes at former [[Kingston and Pembroke Railway]] station
File:Red Telephonebox Bielefeld CITY.jpg|Telephone box standing in [[Bielefeld]], Germany
File:COP29 Behind the Scens Day 1 (cop29a6133) (54131525176).jpg|A K6 at the [[2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference]] in Azerbaijan
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{portal|Telephones|United Kingdom}}
* [[Pillar box]] (red UK postal box)
* [[Police box]] (blue UK police phone box)
* [[AEC Routemaster]] (red London bus)
* [[KX telephone boxes]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |first=Gavin |last=Stamp |author-link=Gavin Stamp |title=Telephone Boxes |publisher=Chatto & Windus |place=London |year=1989 |isbn=0-7011-3366-X }}
* {{cite book |editor-first=Neil |editor-last=Johannessen |title=Ring up Britain: the early years of the telephone in the United Kingdom |place=London |publisher=British Telecom |year=1991 |isbn=0-948257-88-1 }}
* {{cite book |first=Neil |last=Johannessen |title=Telephone Boxes |publisher=Shire |place=Princes Risborough |edition=2nd |year=1999 |isbn=0-7478-0419-2 }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Red telephone boxes}}
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* [http://www.the-telephone-box.co.uk/ The Telephone Box] Complete illustrated history of the Red Telephone Box. Includes K5 & K7 images.
* [http://www.payphonebox.com/ PayPhoneBox] Index of British Red Phone Boxes.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070304071211/http://www.redtelephonebox.com/findoutmore/phonekiosks.php More K6 facts]

{{BT Group}}

[[Category:Culture of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:BT Group buildings and structures]]
[[Category:Public phones]]
[[Category:Street furniture]]
[[Category:Telecommunications in the United Kingdom]]