Phone Box at Centre of Great Britain Gets Grade II Listing
A telephone box at Dunsop Bridge in Lancashire's Ribble Valley has been given Grade II-listed status. The KX100 kiosk stands in the village named as the nearest settlement to the geographical centre of Great Britain.
It was the 100,000th telephone kiosk installed in the country. Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes opened it in June 1992 and made the first call, joined by children from nearby Thornleyholme RC Primary School.
Why it was listed
The Twentieth Century Society, which champions outstanding examples of modern design, applied for the listing. Jayne Rimmer of Historic England said the box is part of "the last generation of the public telephone box" and called it a "nationally significant kiosk".
The listing describes the kiosk as a "good and largely intact example" showing the standard features and branding of the newly introduced type. Historic England says it has both architectural and historic interest. The society pointed to a "bespoke, site-specific design" with key places in Britain radiating from the BT "Piper" marque and Dunsop Bridge.
The KX100 design was first introduced in 1985. It has large glass panels and was meant to be easier to clean and more accessible than the red model before it.
Oli Marshall, the society's campaigns director, said he was "absolutely delighted". He noted that the arrival of the KX100 first spurred the society into action in 1985, when it fought to repel the new model. The box is now itself being given heritage protection. He added that the Tour de France is passing through Dunsop Bridge next July, and the society hopes the kiosk "will form the centrepiece of the village's celebrations".
Simon Hore, leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council, said the phone box has "a special place in local people's hearts".
A centre that is disputed
Ordnance Survey calculations put the centre of Great Britain at Whitendale Hanging Stones, about 4.3 miles (7km) north-west of Dunsop Bridge. Other places also claim the title, including Haltwhistle in Northumberland.
Ordnance Survey later said there could be "no absolute centre for a three-dimensional land mass sitting on the surface of a sphere and surrounded by the ebb and flow of sea water". A spokesperson said in 2014 that Dunsop Bridge came from defining Britain as "the mainland and the 401 associated islands". Looking only at the mainland, the spot lies a little further south, about 2.5 miles (4km) north-west of Whalley.
Source: BBC News