History on the HIGH STREET

Among the everyday sights on our streets are these reminders of an earlier age

- CAROLINE BEDDOW

Iconic features of our high street furniture may be disappearing as new technology makes them redundant. But there are still distinctive items hidden in plain sight and 1 of them are getting a new lease of life.

Telephone boxes

Designed in the 1920s by the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, these were a mainstay of every high street - and many a suburban avenue - until the 1980s, when mobile phones began to render them redundant.

The first red telephone box was the K2, which won Scott first place in a General Post Office competition in 1924. Bearing the Royal Crest of King George V, 1,500 were made for the capital's streets. The later K6 kiosk became more common, with over 20,000 sited across the UK.

Now only around 10,000 remain, but 3,000 are listed and 5,000 have been adopted by local authorities and community groups, and are used as book swaps, seed exchanges and even defibrillation stations.

Gas lanterns