Skip to content

Abandoned phone box to become community museum

BBC A disused telephone box in the middle of a freshly cut field. There are grey slate slabs beside it, and cut grass strewn all over the ground. It is a wet overcast day and the sky is grey. The Perspex panels on the phone box are clouded and the panel at the top which reads 'Telephone' is barely legible. A Christmas wreath has been placed on the door with a white bow on it.BBC
Local artists and photographers have volunteered their skills to bring life and colour back to the phone box

A community is breathing a new lease of life into an abandoned phone box by turning it into a mini museum for the local area.

The disused phone box in Oldcroft, Gloucestershire, would once have been a vital lifeline for the village, but has since fallen into disrepair and become overgrown.

After securing funding from the West Dean Parish Council, volunteers have made plans to paint the interior, display pictures, and install a new phone to hear audible "stories of old".

It aims to be a "focal point for the community" where local people can share with visitors what they love most about life in the rural village.

The K6 Project An old red telephone box in the middle of a field of ferns. The greenery has become overgrown and is reaching half way up the phone box to the handle. The Perspex panes are clouded and mouldy. The red paint is chipped and the panel at the top which reads 'Telephone' is barely legible. The K6 Project
The old telephone box, pictured here in 2021, had fallen into disrepair and become overgrown

The pre-1955 K6 telephone box was made in Scotland and shipped to Gloucestershire in one single piece.

Oldcroft residents Kathy Cook and Vicky Erskine got involved with the restoration project because they said they could no longer watch the once-proud structure fall into disrepair.

"We wanted to pay homage to the little Oldcroft village," said Ms Erskine.

"There's a lot of history here, a lot of great stories, but there isn't really a resource to find out about this area.

"We'd like to all come together here, even if we can't all fit inside it, which would be a challenge," she laughed.

Kathy wearing a purple padded jacket and tortoiseshell glasses. She has long grey curly hair and is smiling at the camera. Standing next to her is Vicky, wearing a mint-green hoodie underneath a blue buttoned coat, and a pale pink scarf. She has blonde curly hair which is tied back in a bun. They are both standing in front of the red telephone box, which is in the middle of a field area.
Kathy Cook (L) and Vicky Erskine (R) say there is a "strong community spirit" to improve the area

First on the agenda is to replace the clouded Perspex sheets with glass panels, before giving it a fresh lick of paint.

It will then be filled with pictures, paintings, stories, messages, maps and landmarks from the local area.

"In a perfect world, we're going to find a reconditioned old phone so you can lift the receiver and hear stories of old from one of the original residents that were here many moons ago," Ms Erskine said.

Ms Cook added: "Also a walking map so we can set out a trail for them to go round and see the interesting places with descriptions of what things are."

The group hope to have the mini museum up and running by summer 2025.

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Related Internet Links
More on this story