The Orkney Vintage Club has officially adopted a K6 Phone Box as part of an adoption scheme that British Telecom (BT) is running, which has allowed us to purchace this box for the grand sum of £1! The box is located in Kirkwall on Bridge Street, opposite the former ‘Frozen Food Centre’. When we found out BT was removing telephone boxes around the county due to the lack of use, we had to step in.
Phone boxes have been around since 1881 and have been an iconic part of the British street space up and down the country. This type of phone box, named the ‘K6’ was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935. It was commissioned in 1936 to replace the earlier K2 model; the K6 was lighter and easier to produce. By the end of the 1930s, there were 20,000 K6 telephone boxes in use all over the UK. Nowadays, due to vandalism and the ageing condition of telephone kiosks, BT is removing them one by one.
We plan to restore the telephone box to its former glory, giving it a fresh coat of paint and replacing some of the glass panels to bring it back to life again. The Orkney Vintage Club is committed to preserving history wherever possible, and we are not just about vintage vehicles!! We are looking for ideas on what we could put in it. Most are converted into defibulators, and due to its central location in the town, it seems the most logical option. People have also converted them into book banks, museums, tourist information points and even a nightclub!! If you have any ideas, why not comment them below or contact us on Facebook?
Interested in adopting a Telephone Kiosk near you?
BT have a ‘Adopt a Kiosk’ scheme that they run, which allows Registered Charities, Local Governments, Community Councils or the owners of the land on which the telephone box sits to adopt a box for a grand sum of £1. Conditions are that the box has to stay where it is currently and cannot be used for commercial purposes. It is also up to the adoptee to maintain and manage the condition of the box. You can learn more by visiting: Adopt a Kiosk Scheme | Buy a BT Phone Box | BT Business. If you do not meet the requirements to adopt, you can also purchace one by visiting Xconnect: Home of the British K6 Red Telephone Box. They are the only BT authorised seller of phone boxes and spare parts. You can also find many on eBay and Facebook Marketplace.