|
THE POLICE BOX
On the 23rd November 1963 the traditional
Police Telephone Box, which stood on many a street corner at that time,
suddenly became something much more interesting. Especially for the children of
the day and probably to the chagrin of many a local Bobby.
For the
humble Police Box had been transformed into a TARDIS, (Time and Relative
Dimensions in Space). The special machine Doctor Who used to travel anywhere in
Time and Space. A Time and Space craft that was infinitely large on the inside
but disguised as a humble Police Box on the outside.
Unfortunately with
the advance of new technology, within six years of the TARDIS materializing on
our screens, the Police Box had become obsolete and by 1970 most had been
removed from our streets.
It was in Newcastle, 1929, that the first
Police Box of the design we know and love was first introduced. They soon
spread, and by the mid 1950's there were nearly 700 of them in London alone.
Glasgow had the next largest network with some 300 boxes.
Today only
four remain on the streets of Glasgow. Two of which are now listed buildings
and another has been converted into a Coffee Take-away.
In 1996 a brand
new box was unveiled in London outside Earl's Court Tube station, as part of a
joint safety project between London Underground and the Metropolitan
Police.
Other boxes have survived around the country, most are in
museums, one is at the National Tramway Museum, Crich, Derbyshire. This was
formally housed at the Police training college in Hendon. A replica box can be
seen outside Wetherby Police station in Yorkshire.
For more information
and a fascinating history of the Police Box you can't do better than read "The
Police Signal Box: A 100 Year History" by Robert W. Stewart. It's on-line, so
click here to read it. Or
here. Everything you ever needed to know about Police Boxes and
more.
If you know of a Police Box and where we can see it. We'd like to
hear from you. Please send us an email and send the
details. |
