Telephone boxes may be a rare sight in the modern age with mobile phones being in nearly everyone’s pocket if not two, but not long ago they were the best way to communicate. Nearly every major country with telecommunications had some form of the telephone box, also known as a phone booth in the US, but not nowhere is associated with them as much as England.
The original iconic K1 (Kiosk 1) bright red phone booths first appeared in 1920 by the United Kingdom Postal office before they started appearing all over London in 1924.
The initial reception was notably mixed with a lot of outrage due to their color and how the bright red stood out like a sore thumb. However the government took this as a good response as the intention of the red was to make the phone booths easy to locate and so in 1926, the crown was added to the top to represent the government.
Hull’s phone booths are not like these.
Since 1902 Hull City Council has operated the local telecommunications systems itself. Many cities across the country sold the systems to the Postmaster General fearing failure, however Hull never did this. The city stuck to their guts and maintained total control, eventually becoming what we now know as KCOM.
In order to avoid confusion, the Hull Telephone Committee as it was then known painted their telephone boxes a cream color, making it extremely unique to the rest of the country’s and establishing it as a unique local icon.
Come see all of Hull’s unique features on your next trip to the city. Stay in one of our fabulous rental homes in the city centre! We’ll be expecting you!
- Dakota Morrill
Padoo Homes
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