1884

The Postmaster General authorized the telephone companies (plural!) to establish "public call offices"; the largest company was the NTC, or National Telephone Company - however, their activities were naturally focused mainly on London and other large cities.

Over the years, "call offices", "silence cabinets" and "kiosks" sprung up in shops, railway stations, and other public places. Some boxes had an attendant who would dial the required number for members of the public who were still unsure of the new technology. There was a great variety of design and style, with local government opposing standardization. A recognizably national telephone kiosk was still a long way off.

The idea for a telephone booth is credited by some to Thomas Watson, Graham Bell's assistant. Apparently he felt that greater privacy was needed by primitive technology which relied on raised voices and almost bionic-hearing!

(Photo © Ian McPherson, Ulster Folk & Transport Museum (2005))

K1

1912

The Post Office took over from the NTC and other companies.

Introduced in 1921, Kiosk No.1 was a reinforced concrete realization of the more dominant wooden call office designs, finished off with an ornamental spear on the roof! However, the door WAS red - the Post Office's colour - but also making phone boxes, like mail boxes, easy to spot anywhere from a country lane to a busy city street. At its height, K1 cost £15 each to produce.

(Picture courtesy Mike Fletcher, TELEPHONES UK )

K2

 1927
With the introduction of Kiosk No.2 (the design had won a Post Office competition three years earlier), Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) definitely started something.

It's distinctive domed roof and all-over red make it the prototype of the classic K6, which was introduced nearly ten years later. Ventilation was provided via the crown in the roof section - it was made up from small, round holes!

Legend has it that the dome was Scott's homage to the 18th Century architect Sir John Soane, R.A. (1753-1837) whose family tomb is surmounted by a very similar feature. Mind you, Thomas Watson's first proper booth, which was wooden, also featured a domed roof!

Unlike the tops of modern British phone booths, Scott's Soanian dome is a proper roof, dealing effectively with rain and litter while also being aesthetically pleasing.

However, K2 was mostly restricted to the London area, and therefore not a truly national kiosk.

K3

1929

With its more graceful lines and proportions, the K3 - which was intended for more scenic or rural locations - probably anticipated the K6, although its colour scheme recalled the K1. Again, Gilbert Scott was behind this one (well, not literally lurking behind it...you know what I mean!). Apparently, this was the last box fashioned in concrete, a material which did not withstand the British climate very well (though this one is still standing)!

K4

1930

Nicknamed the "vermillion giant", K4 was a mini-post office, what with it's stamp dispenser and built-in post-box. Significantly, it was made from cast-iron. Only 50 were ever built, and the K4 was discontinued in 1934. The story goes that people using the phone objected to the noise made by the users of the kiosk's other facilities and the stamps were affected by the damp whenever it rained.

However, the Post Office heritage of the phone box persists to this day with kiosks often still sited not far from mailboxes! With K4, the evolution of the British phone kiosk had moved a step closer to the world-famous classic, the K6!

K5

1935

K5 was a temporary, easily assembled kiosk intended for exhibitions, and so forth, as if Ikea sold phone boxes, I suppose.

Reminiscent of both K1 and K3, it was sadly short-lived!

(Top Left: Thanks to Robert Ore, RED PHONEBOX INFO, for this stunning photo which shows the differences in size and style of the grand K2 and its classy successor K6, with which it is sometimes confused.)