MAX DeFROST

NEWS: The Society is delighted that our listing application for the famous KX100 telephone box at Dunsop Bridge, Lancashire, has been successful, with DCMS designating the kiosk Grade II. The kiosk was the 100,000th telephone box to be installed in the country, with the location chosen by British Telecom as the geographical centre of Great Britain and its 401 outlying islands. To reflect its landmark status a bespoke site-specific design was commissioned from designers David Carter Associates and Wolff Olins, the glass panels etched with key places in Britain radiating from the BT ‘Piper’ marque and Dunsop Bridge. It was officially opened in June 1992 by explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who made the first call from the box to the Ordnance Survey, and by children from nearby Thornleyholm RC Primary School. The KX100 listing news brings C20 Society’s 40+ year old phonebox campaign full circle, achieving heritage status for the very model that first spurred the Society into action in 1985, following BT’s privatisation and the widespread removal of the beloved Sir Giles Gilbert Scott-designed red kiosks. The campaign was revived in June 2024, as the end of the public payphone neared after more than 140 years of service, and with the abundant KX models now also being removed at a rapid rate. Rather than attempt a mass listing campaign for the modernist KX – neither a credible or a desirable prospect – the Society instead identified three exemplars worthy of preservation; one kiosk in England, Scotland and Wales. Each one has either a unique design that sets it apart from regular production kiosks, or survives in exceptional original condition. We believe these to be the most historically significant examples of the KX100 and KX300 in the United Kingdom, and listing applications were submitted in unison to all the relevant national heritage bodies: Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, and Cadw (in Wales). The example at Dunsop Bridge is the first to have resulted in a listing designation, with assessments ongoing for those in Scotland and Wales.