MUST SEE: The K1 Telephone Kiosk outside the former Post Office is one of only five still in existence. Be sure to take a peek.
The original kiosk …
Tyneham got its first public telephone kiosk during the winter of 1929. Before this date the villagers would keep in touch with the outside world by telegram or later by using the telephone in the back room of the Post Office.
Click on the images above to view
Tyneham’s telephone kiosk was a ‘K1’ made of reinforced concrete with wooden door. It was sited outside the Post Office in The Row. Its installation was at first resisted by William Bond but he eventually granted permission.
Tyneham was evacuated 14 years later in 1943. For the next 40 years the abandoned kiosk was left to its fate. It became hidden under self-seeded trees and ever- creeping undergrowth.
With the public being granted increased access to the Army Ranges, the kiosk was restored in 1983 but with the incorrect roof decoration.
During the filming of ‘Comrades’ in 1985 an accident resulted in Tyneham’s telephone kiosk being completely destroyed.
The replacement kiosk …
The K1 Mark 236 at Tyneham today is the replacement bought by the film company responsible. It is one of five such kiosks still in existence.
In 2012, the kiosk had a complete makeover. Thanks to the invaluable help of ex-GPO engineer Ian Jolly the it now boasts authentic fittings and wartime notices. It now looks much as it did when the last villager left Tyneham in December 1943.
The photographs below show:
- the kiosk stripped of all its fittings being tested for a new hardwood door on 16 Aug 2012
- with a fresh coat of paint and renovated roof decorations in Sep 12
- the painted door and windows being installed on 12 Oct 2012
- ex-GPO engineer Ian Jolly admiring the restored kiosk complete with interior fittings on 20 Oct 2012
Click on the images above to view
Chance encounter
About 2010 I met a lady in the village whose father was the engineer that installed the original telephone back in 1929 (Kimmeridge 221). She said the vicar (Rev. Frend) had approached her father and told him he was doing the work of the Devil! However some six months later her father installed a phone (Kimmeridge 223) in the Rectory! The lady confirmed there were three other phones: Tyneham House (Kimmeridge 215), Tyneham Farm (Kimmeridge 217) and Tyneham Post Office (Kimmeridge 219). She was unable to explain why they were all odd numbers. Apparently her father worked all his life for the phone company, as had she. And her son and daughter were still working for them! She also identified the box as a K1 236 and noticed the incorrect roof decoration.
Paul Fancy, Range Warden
More about kiosk designs…
Public phone boxes first appeared on our streets around the start of the 20th century. However there were many styles ranging from rustic wooden booths in rural areas to galvanised iron boxes on docksides. Several even had thatched roofs! Additionally colours ranged from conservative buffs and browns to eye-catching vermillion and flame.
The General Post Office (GPO) had to find a solution to this confusion. So leading architects were called in to design an attractive, cost-effective kiosk for all our towns and cities. Post Office Red was to become the standard colour. Eight standard kiosk designs were introduced between 1921 and 1983.
The K1 was Britain’s first standard telephone kiosk. Between 1921 and 1927 the GPO designed three versions. Each had the same reinforced concrete body and wooden door. The kiosk at Tyneham is the third and final version.
It was the K6, introduced in 1935 for the Jubilee of George V, that was destined to become a British icon.
The decline of telephone kiosks
Sadly the ‘Red Telephone Box’ is declining rapidly with the exponential growth of mobile phone usage. So British Telecom introduced an ’Adopt a Kiosk’ for a pound scheme to help save this important part of our heritage. Over 5,000 communities now take care of their local box. Uses include art galleries, defibrillator stations, food banks, libraries and shops plus much more besides!
Further information from
www.payphones.bt.com/adopt_a_kiosk/HTML/payphone/index.htm
Page last updated: 3 September 2022