Sunday Snap – Blue Police Box

It was a case of nearly but not quite for last week's Sunday Snap of a Penfold Post Box. The design of it is based on the original Penfold post boxes that were manufactured between 1866 and 1879 however in the late 1980s the Post Office thought it would be a jolly idea to make some replica Penfolds. The plan was to install them in designated conservation areas, places of historic interest and tourist attractions. Some people thought this was disrespectful to the current monarch Elizabeth II as post boxes bear the royal cypher of the reigning monarch at time of manufacture. Now Chas said 1989 which I think was the year this box was installed at Tower Bridge but if you look carefully there is a plaque on the black base which clearly states the year...

So 1988 is the answer.

From red boxes we go to blue boxes. Many of you know we are huge Doctor Who fans and my son was very excited to come across this Police Box doing a very good impression of the Doctor's TARDIS. My son did knock on the door ordering the Doctor to come out but I guess he was off saving the Earth from impending doom once again. When Doctor Who was first broadcast in 1963 police boxes would have been a familiar sight on Britain's streets. These wooden boxes were first introduced in the 1920s. With no walkie-talkies or mobile radios it proved difficult for the Bobby on the street to keep in contact with the police station. Each box had a telephone connected to the local police station which could be accessed from the outside by both a police officer and members of the public. When a police officer was required to contact the police station the yellow light on top would flash. They could also be used as a temporary police cell if required.

With the advent of mobile technology in the 1960s and 70s the need for these boxes decreased and gradually they were phased out. Some, like the one above, still remain as items of historical interest. In the first episode of the current series the TARDIS lands in Glasgow which was seen as nod to the current Doctor being played by a Glaswegian actor. There are however some police boxes still intact in Glasgow although ironically Scottish boxes where originally painted red rather than the iconic blue.

The question for this week is – where is this police box located?