For a long time I had wanted to have a red telephone box – known as the K6 – in my back garden. It is possible to buy these boxes in an ‘as is’ condition from the BT approved supplier in Newark, but this was not an option for us as the intended location of our box has no vehicular access and is too far from the road for crane delivery.

In 2022 a dismantled box came available very close to where we live. The parts came with breaks in five of the components and with NONE of the original one hundred or so bolts that hold the structure together. Given other pressing commitments, the parts lay in our yard until early 2025, when we decided that we needed to ‘bite the bullet’ or else scrap the idea of restoration. Fortunately, we had a multi-skilled local handyman available and access to a welder with expertise in cast iron. New hinges, glazing, paint etc. were ordered from the BT supplier, but we also needed to source a range of authentic slot headed BSW bolts in various sizes.

I called Tony Charman at the Vintage Screw Company. Tony was brilliant in delivering everything I requested in a very short timeframe so that we were able to complete the build whilst the necessary expertise was available. I am very proud of what we were able to achieve. Many people restore these boxes and a few even rebuild them, but I don’t know of anyone who has taken a box with complete breaks in its structure and with none of the original fixings and rebuilt it to this standard. The pictures show the box before and after restoration.