[dropcap type=”circle”]A[/dropcap]s preparations are made to demolish an imposing local building like the Pensby Hotel, it may seem irrelevant to worry about the future of the red telephone box in Lower Heswall.
Earmarked for removal on the basis that it is little used, here at Heswall Today we believe the box has stories to tell about history, social history and technological change. It is also attractive, appropriate and complements the red pillar box that survived the disappearance of the post office.
The iconic British red phone box was the result of a competition held in 1924 to design a telephone box suitable for London Metropolitan Boroughs. Architect Giles Gilbert Scott took the honours and the box, known as the K2, started to be installed in London two years later. It was the Post Office’s idea to paint them red. Because of the expense of manufacturing them, not many K2’s got beyond the capital.
Hence the Lower Heswall box is a K6. Introduced in 1935 to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V, it was a smaller version of the K2 and was installed across the country. It is the most recognised box, if not as coveted as its predecessor.
More than 240,000 red telephone boxes were built between the 1920’s and 1980’s, but during the 80’s and 90’s many red boxes were replaced with aluminium ones. Only 9400 K6’s are left standing.
So by all means remove the phone but can’t we conserve the box as a reminder of a time when smartphones, Facetime and Candy Crush Saga were impossibilities? The community can chip in to give it a lick of paint and perhaps stage a competition of its own to find a new use for it. I seem to remember a red box that was turned into a tiny art gallery big enough for one person to enter and appreciate local works. This would be much more preferable to the box being removed and sold off to someone who turns it into a shower cubicle.
A 42 day consultation period began on September 7 so there’s not that long left. To make your feelings known, be they Boxit or Remain, contact Wirral Borough Council’s Planning Department.
I intend to point out that if Clark Kent ever visits Lower Heswall he will have nowhere to change into his red underpants and blue tights and some appalling disaster will not be averted.
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