A tale of two kiosks

Just outside the building, either side of the town hall steps, are a pair of iconic red telephone boxes, albeit somewhat worse for wear.

Unlike the town hall, these two kiosks are Grade II Listed, which means they are of national importance and special interest.

Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935, the K6 kiosk was commissioned by the General Post Office in 1935 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V, and were one of eight types introduced between 1926 and 1983.

Around 60,000 of the K6 kiosk were installed between 1936 and 1968, with around 3,400 still in operation in England today.

Local Democracy Reporter Kenny Lomas outside St Helens Town Hall

According to Historic England, there are 3,200 K6 telephone kiosks protected as iconic national objects, with special architectural design interest.

St Helens’ kiosks were listed on Feb 22, 1988, the same week Kylie Minogue’s classic ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ rocketed to the top of the UK singles charts.

Large numbers have been so lucky and have been able to survive, and most are protected, meaning new listings of K6 kiosks are now very rare.

Despite their positive contribution to the character and history of an area, the the iconic red phone boxes – and kiosks in general – are rarely used these days.

Through a lack of maintenance, many have fallen into poor states, such as those  found by the steps of St Helens town hall.

The red phone boxes outside St Helens Town Hall have fallen into a poor state

As more kiosks fall out of use, some have been re-purposed to give them a new lease of life.

For example, some now house community defibrillator stations, while others have been turned into ice cream booths, coffee shops and libraries.

This also has the benefit of attracting investment, funding their maintenance and continued service to local communities.

In Cheltenham, 10 red phone boxes have been transformed into miniature art galleries, showcasing the work of local artists.

This was done through BT’s Adopt a Kiosk scheme, which enables communities to retain its iconic red kiosk.

The scheme has been successful in transforming unused payphone kiosks and preserves the heritage of the red kiosk.

A red BT telephone box in the Somerset village of Westbury-Sub-Mendip is full of books after villagers transformed the phonebox they bought off BT for £1 into a library and book exchange. (Ben Birchall/PA).

BT has also partnered with the Community Heartbeat Trust to install defibrillators in disused phone boxes across the country, meaning the red kiosk can remain a lifeline for the community.

St Helens Town Hall is also in need of a short, sharp shock itself, after seeing its influence as the centre of local democracy diminished during the pandemic.

Last August, St Helens Borouh Council announced sweeping changes to how its office accommodation and landmark buildings will be used in the future.

Council chiefs made it clear St Helens Town Hall would maintain its focus as the “recognised democratic seat of the council”.

They also revealed that as some of the office space in the town hall would no longer be required, this may open up the increased community usage.

It is hoped this will make the building more accessible to residents, therefore retaining the heritage of the building and its place within the town centre.

Perhaps this may also pave the way for communities to reclaim the iconic red phone boxes, to preserve them for many generations to come.