The UK’s bright red phone boxes are undeniably one of the country’s most iconic sights. Since they were first introduced way back in 1921, they’ve been featured as everything from portals to the wizarding world to album covers – as well as, of course, used to call people.
Red phone boxes are symbols of British pop culture unlike any other. So wouldn’t it be hella cool to own one for yourself? Well, soon you’ll be able to do just that. And better yet, you’ll be able to buy one for just £1.
To celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the UK’s red phone boxes, BT has announced that around 1,000 of them are going up for sale across the UK.
As you likely know already, public payphones in the UK don’t get used anywhere near as much as they used to. According to BT, only 20,000 working phone booths remain in operation in the UK, down from a 1990s peak of around 100,000. The rise of mobile phones and the internet means that these days many phone booths don’t have much of a purpose.
Fortunately, many communities have creatively repurposed their local kiosks into things like book exchanges, local art galleries and defibrillators. More than 7,200 phone kiosks have been adopted by communities across the UK for £1 since BT introduced the Adopt a Kiosk programme in 2008.
BT’s Michael Smy said: ‘With the iconic red kiosk about to turn 100, it’s a great opportunity to remind communities that would still like to retain their local kiosk to take it on for just £1 through our Adopt a Kiosk scheme. We’ve already seen some great kiosk conversions across the UK that have become valuable community assets.’
Want your very own iconic piece of British culture? Find out more info on the official BT website here.
Did you see that Sheffield could be getting a vast new ‘zero carbon’ community?
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.