By Henry Harington
People in Luccombe will have noticed something glowing red in the centre of the village. On closer examination they will see that the rusty, paint-peeling and badly neglected telephone kiosk has been renovated and painted. But it was not British Telecom (that owns the phone box) who have taken pride in the Gilbert Scott icon, but Peter and Sarah Collins who live opposite the phone box in Summer Cottage.
Luccombe’s red telephone box before and after restoration, April 2020
Like the rest of us they are in lockdown but they decided to put their time to good use in the interests of the village landscape. They have not only reconditioned the kiosk including repainting the gold crowns, but have also tackled the benches on the green next to the kiosk. These too had become run down, covered in lichen and the brass plates tarnished. Sarah and Peter have stripped them to the wood and restored them. We extend our sincere thanks to Sarah and Peter who are confronting their own problems. The renovations to Summer Cottage came to a standstill when the contractors departed in response to the lockdown but leaving Sarah and Peter in the lurch.
As villagers are aware British Telecoms attempted, somewhat surreptitiously, to deny Luccombe its phone box. However, relying on the fact that Luccombe has no mobile telephone signal the village was able to oblige BT to keep the kiosk in place although attempts to confirm the future of the box and their commitment to maintain the paint work have been ignored. We await an appeal made by Exmoor National Park that has applied to have the telephone box listed. The application was rejected which is why an appeal has been submitted.
The village telephone box is not only a charming icon but an essential utility. If electric power to the village fails domestic digital telephones that most of us use won’t work. In the event of an emergency the public telephone box may be the only reliable link to the “outside world.” The likelihood of Luccombe receiving a mobile phone signal in the near future has been dashed. The firm that had a arranged with the church to install antennae on the tower of St. Mary’s has aborted the project (See separate blog for the role played by “Bats in the Belfry”).
British Telecom attempted to remove the telephone box as there has not been a call made from the kiosk for some time. But, like insurance, we have to have it even though we hope we will never have to claim! If you feel like it please make a call from the call box from time to time as this may prevent BT raising the possibility of depriving Luccombe of this much loved land mark.
Click below to see larger images of the restored phone box and benches
Come on everyone- give Peter and Sarah some favourable comments! The newly painted kiosk looks lovely, even having the crowns picked out in gold (although this was not an original feature, it is now found on a large number of repainted kiosks).
One comment that I forgot to make in my earlier item about our phone box was that although I do not know where this replacement box was previously located, it was possibly in or close to a military establishment, as some NAAFI tokens were found in its coin box when it was being installed.
Well Done Peter & Sarah.
Looks great. It is something everyone who visits the village sees. The seat also great improvement. Well done.