The red telephone box is a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott , the architect responsible for Liverpool Cathedral. The telephone box is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom , its associated Crown Dependencies , British Overseas Territories and Malta. Despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, the traditional British red telephone kiosk can still be seen in many places throughout the UK, and in current or former British colonies around the world.
The colour red was chosen to make them easy to spot. From onwards, the fascias of the kiosks were emblazoned with a prominent crown , representing the British government. The red phone box is often seen as a British cultural icon throughout the world.
Many of the phone box designs are protected by trade mark registrations and copyright, held by British Telecommunications plc. The first standard public telephone kiosk introduced by the United Kingdom Post Office was produced in concrete in and was designated K1 Kiosk No.
The Post Office had taken over almost all of the country's telephone network in Some local authorities refused to give permission for the K1; Eastbourne Corporation insisted that the kiosks could only be installed if they had thatched roofs.
As of , there remain fourteen K1 boxes in the UK, including seven that are in museums and museum collections. A further two remain in the Republic of Ireland. The red telephone box was the result of a competition in to design a kiosk that would be acceptable to the London Metropolitan Boroughs which had hitherto resisted the Post Office's effort to erect K1 kiosks on their streets.
