BT have confirmed they have cancelled plans to remove the working phone box in Sharrington, Norfolk, due to its ‘importance to the community’. The decision comes after villagers staged an event at the phone box to drive up the number of calls made from it. But keeping a public working phone is actually less popular than turning over the distinctive kiosks to other creative uses, as we list below. In part it’s because BT requires the phone has a certain usage for them to leave it operating.
According to BT guidelines, a minimum of 53 phone calls have to be made from a phone box every year in order to keep it in situ. It was a challenge that the good people of Sharrington gladly accepted when they queued up on a chilly Friday in March. Phone numbers of loved ones in hand, they easily beat the minimum number of calls needed. So far, they have made 146 calls – almost three times the number needed, and an impressive number for a village of little more than 100 people.
89-year-old resident Derek Harris, who led the campaign to save the iconic “K6” red phone box, said the support received locally and internationally gave him hope while his fight to save the phone box raged on. “We had such enormous support from people all over the world, from North Norfolk all the way to Germany and even South Africa. Our local MP Steff wrote a letter to residents, asking them to come out on a very chilly morning and meet him at the phone box to make a call. Villagers came out in full force to make sure that this piece of our history was preserved.”
Local MP ‘heartened’ by community effort
North Norfolk MP Steff Aquarone said it was “heartening” to know the village won’t be losing their iconic kiosk. “I am absolutely delighted that I’ve been able to help Derek and the community of Sharrington to save their beloved phone box. It just goes to show you that communities can achieve incredible things when we stand together to protect what matters to us.”
A representative from BT said: “We have decided not to proceed with the removal of the payphone. This decision was made due to the poor mobile signal in the area and the significant number of calls made from the payphone, highlighting its importance to the community.”
The K6 phone kiosk, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was introduced in 1936 to commemorate King George V’s Silver Jubilee and became the iconic red telephone box widely rolled out across the UK. Its robust and recognisable design aimed to provide a consistent public telephone service and quickly became not only a familiar feature of British streets but an international British icon.
Listed status saves another icon
The residents of Sharrington had to fight to save their phone box. Another way to preserve them is for them to gain listed status. And that’s what happened to a Metropolitan Line telephone box in Hertfordshire.
The later-designed K8 phone kiosk at Chorleywood in Hertfordshire is one of just 50 left in their original positions, and one of only 24 that have listed status. In their heyday between 1968 and 1983, 11,000 K8s were installed around the country, but Historic England has said they are now “rare” and the Government has given many of them a special Grade II heritage protection.
“This distinctive telephone box design, once a ubiquitous part of daily life in the UK, is now rare to see in our public spaces,” former heritage minister Lord Parkinson said.
The Chorleywood Station Platform 2 kiosk is listed “for Bruce Martin’s meticulously simplified and updated design, a classic work of 20th Century industrial design which is immediately recognisable.”
Tom Foxall, regional director of Historic England, said: “There are very few designs that can be genuinely termed as ‘iconic’ but the K8 is certainly one of them.”
Plans for a phone box café stalled
Meanwhile, plans to turn a phone box in Cambridge into a tiny coffee shop were turned down after concerns about pedestrian safety were raised.
Planning officers at Cambridge City Council said they could not support the plans after the application, put forward by Jake Armon. He had proposed converting the phone box into a mini coffee shop, selling pre-ordered coffee made by a barista. They argued that converting the phone box would violate the Highways Act due to its doors opening onto a public highway, creating a potential hazard for pedestrians.
Other phone box uses across East Anglia
It has become quite commonplace to see phone box micro-libraries in rural villages. They are a charming and innovative way to repurpose the iconic red K6 boxes. These micro-libraries operate as book exchanges, encouraging reading within the community and is a brilliant way to recycle books. Another popular use is to house Public Access Defibrillators. These life-saving medical kits are being fitted to kiosks around the country and are supplied by the British Coatings Federation (BCF), BT and the Community HeartBeat Trust.
Here are some other uses the K6 kiosks have been given over to:
Norfolk
- Thurne: A telephone box was converted into a visitor information center, possibly the smallest National Park information center in the world!
- Wreningham: Their phone box was converted into a village swap box.
- North Runcton: This village boasts what might be Norfolk’s smallest art gallery in a repurposed phone box.
- Poringland: The Parish Council had plans to use a phone box for defibrillator storage.
Across Norfolk and Waveney, 90 phone boxes were reported as available for adoption in March 2021, indicating a strong potential for further creative reuses in the region.
Suffolk
- Ufford: The parish council transformed their phone box into a book exchange. But it has also served as the “World’s Smallest Art Gallery” and an “Aromaphone” filled with sensory items.
- Eyke: Their adopted phone box now houses a life-saving defibrillator.
- Bucklesham: The community turned their phone box into a tourist information hub with a large Ordnance Survey map.
- Blickling: During the first COVID-19 lockdown, a phone box opposite St Andrew’s Church was repurposed as a community larder.
- Mellis: A phone box was transformed into a “colour therapy” room with stained glass panels depicting local common life. It has artificial grass and a stool for people to relax inside.
Essex
- Great Yeldham: Mini-museum displaying archaeological finds.
- Begger Hill: Contains local information and history.
- Southend-on-Sea: Billed as one of the world’s smallest museums. It explores the Victorian history of the Clifftown area which includes the Clifftown Estate, War Memorial, Floral Clock, Bandstand, Queen Victoria Statue, Cliff Lift, Royal Terrace and Southend Pier.
Cambridgeshire
- Buckworth: Recycling of items not accepted by local authority recycling service (e.g. medicine blister packs)
- Swavesey: History and local information – the kiosk is full of leaflets about local activities and events
- Girton: A decorative flower box “maintained by the gardeners of Girton” says a sign on the door. The flower arrangements or displays are themed e.g. for Christmas, Easter, etc.
- Toft: A seed-bank allowing local residents to swap seeds of both flowers and vegetables
According to The K6 Project, while quite a few in the region still have a phone, many phone boxes are listed as being empty. This suggests there are some interesting opportunities for locals who could find an innovative use for their landmark K6 kiosk.
It’s clear that Britain’s beloved red telephone boxes continue to spark community action, inspire heritage recognition and find new life in creative ways. Whether as emergency lifelines, protected landmarks or innovative public spaces, their legacy endures.
This article is based on a press release by Steff Aquarone, with additional material by East Anglia Bylines, and compiled by ChatGPT.
