Police Boxes or Kiosks were supplied by the local constabulary and fitted out with
GPO Equipment. They came in various styles ranging from wood to cast iron. The first
picture above shows a pre-cast concrete Police box in Cardiff Road, Newport, Gwent, whilst the second picture
shows the interior stripped of GPO and Police fittings.
The original Police system, PA150, used Posts with provision for a loudspeaker mounted in
a triangular frame with all the electrical components and telephone equipment attached.
The same loudspeaker unit was used in police kiosks, fitted behind a specially made door
mounting. The left hand picture shows such a door. The second picture shows the inside of
the same Police kiosk with the door mounting exposed (centre left of the picture).
On the introduction of Police system PA350/PA450 the loudspeaker equipment was replaced by
a simple 200 type telephone and a mains relay unit. On the Newport boxes the door assembly was subsequently
modified, with the speaker grill and associated equipment being removed and a mounting
provided for the telephone (complete with cover to stop people seeing into the box, to
stop theft or the possibility of finding a sleeping policeman inside!). The mains relay
was mounted on the wall and this operated the lamp on top of the Kiosk. The lamps were coloured orange, except for the
Metropolitan Police district in London, when they were clear (there were no blue lamps!). There was always a test button in
the Kiosks to light the lamp - the Police must have had long necks, if they were
expected to press the test switch and see the lamp on during the daytime.
Kiosks were also fitted with a PA No.1 lamp fitting (as shown in the right hand picture).
The Newport police boxes also had window frames on two sides and a door very similar to
that of a Telephone Kiosk No 3 (in fact the side windows also looked similar to the window
frames in the door). Three of the four remaining police boxes in Newport were
removed in the mid 90's,
due to deterioration of the concrete. The remaining box, now owned by the
Newport
Council, is situated on the Chepstow Road (leave the M4 at Junction 24 and follow the A48 to Newport) and is painted dark blue with a `Doctor
Who' scarf around it!
On 6th January 1936 the first Police telephone Boxes, fifty in number, were installed throughout `J' division, a Police district covering a wide area that included Walthampstow, Leyton, Chingford, Wanstead, Woodford, Hackney, Ilford, Chadwell Heath, Loughton and Waltham Abbey. The boxes were dark blue in colour and so arranged that no-one should have to travel more than half a mile before reaching a telephone or Police box.
POLICE KIOSK IN St. ALBANS
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