The red telephone box: Celebrating 100 years of an icon

As the original design for the telephone box approaches its 100th anniversary, we look back at the history of its unique design and how it has stood the test of time.

Walking across UK towns and cities, or through the countryside, you might come across an iconic symbol of British heritage, the red telephone box. Although they’re rarely used today, the telephone box is still a classic part of the country’s visual identity.

Telephone Kiosks and the Post Office

The UK’s first telephone kiosk, or telephone box as it’s commonly known, appeared in the late 19th century in the form of ‘call offices’. These were public telephones often found in shops. They required a subscription until the late 1880s, when a pay-by-call system was introduced. Call offices began appearing as street telephone boxes in the early 20th century and came in a variety of designs. This started to change when the General Post Office (GPO) took over the National Telephone Company in 1911 and made plans to standardise the design of telephone boxes.

In 1921, the GPO introduced the first standardised design: the K1 (short for Kiosk One). Around 150 of these kiosks were ordered. They were made of concrete and painted in red and white, featuring a glass window and a decorative iron sign at the top with the words ‘Public Telephone’. This structure was so unpopular with the public that one local council even tried to disguise its design by covering it with a thatched roof.

Black and white image of a K1 Telephone Box, 1925. Image reproduced courtesy of BT Group Archive (TCB 417/E 3140).

With the demand for kiosks growing, the GPO decided to develop a new kiosk. After initial designs were rejected, they turned to the Royal Fine Arts Commission for help.

Designing the telephone box

The Royal Fine Arts Commission worked with Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), nominating three architects to submit their designs. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s design was chosen in 1924. Scott was well known at the time, famous for designing Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station.

Known as the K2, this cast iron kiosk featured glass and wood panelling and a domed roof that diverted rainwater. The kiosk was decorated with the Tudor crown, which sat just below the roof and included holes for ventilation. The K2’s classically styled dome is said to have been inspired by Sir John Soane’s mausoleum in St Pancras Old Churchyard, London. It even featured a sloping floor to counteract any potential use of telephone kiosks as toilets!

Scott’s initial designs called for the kiosks to be painted silver on the outside and blue-green on the inside. However, the GPO opted for the colour red. Red is used across the postal service, meaning the kiosk matches the colour of letter boxes and mail vans. It is also easy to spot. This design went on to become the first incarnation of the red telephone box. An iconic design was born.

Black and white image of a postman delivering mail in Mayfair, London. A K2 telephone kiosk is in the foreground to the right, 1951. (POST 118/18114)

Hitting the Streets

Scott’s design finally hit the streets in 1926. Over the next nine years around 1,700 K2 kiosks were installed. Although the K2 was primarily used in London due to its high cost and size, it set the standard for future designs.

Over time new designs were introduced. In 1929, the concrete version of the K2 appeared in the form of the K3. The K4, nicknamed the ‘Vermillion Giant’, included a letter box and two stamp vending machines; and the K5 was made for temporary locations.

Black and white image of a postman entering a K2 telephone kiosk, 1934. (9729305442)

When in 1935 the GPO asked Scott to develop a new kiosk suitable for towns and cities, he returned to the K2 for inspiration. Known as the K6, this simplified version was slimmer and less ornate than the K2, making it cheaper for the GPO to install. It was launched in 1936 to mark the silver jubilee of King George V, with over 8,000 kiosks installed in its first year. By 1960 over 60,000 existed.

Legacy

The red telephone box was eventually replaced by the KX100 when British Telecom (BT) took over operations of the network from the Post Office in the 1980s. However, the red kiosk has continued to endure. There have been many campaigns to save red telephone boxes from being removed and BT has supported communities across the UK to repurpose them into libraries, defibrator stations and more.

Photograph of a KX100 Telephone Box, 1997. Image reproduced courtesy of BT Group Archives (TCE 306/PHME 28644).

Last year, BT reported that of the approximately 20,000 remaining working payphones, around 3,000 of them are still in traditional red kiosks.

Although just over 200 of these are of the K2 design, they continue to be synonymous with British culture. Over time, they have been given Grade II listed status from Historic England. In 2006, the K2 telephone box was even featured in a set of stamps as one of the ten most iconic British designs of the 20th century.