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Early Glasgow Police Box in Wall

Started by Dori, Sep 05, 2006, 01:14 pm

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Dori

Sep 05, 2006, 01:14 pm Last Edit: Jun 13, 2015, 03:18 am by hb88banzai
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2005/09/01/24271.shtml

Anyone have any updates on this box? Or pictures?

ironageman

Sep 07, 2006, 03:29 pm #1 Last Edit: Jan 20, 2010, 10:33 pm by scarfwearer
Ah, but what you're seeing in that picture is the back of it. There's a full-size door on the front. And inside there were spoons and Oxo boxes, so it's clearly big enough inside to shelter and brew hot drinks in - evidently it's bigger on the inside than ... etc. etc. ...
leonard cohen  1934-2016  standing by the window where the light is strong

robertpunk

Sep 05, 2006, 01:28 pm #2 Last Edit: Sep 07, 2010, 09:23 pm by Scarfwearer
This is a picture I found of it on a Scottish news website shortly after it was found, i've no idea what site. Wish I had news of it for you but sadly I don't. :(



110805npolicebox1_lg.jpg

ironageman

Sep 05, 2006, 04:24 pm #3 Last Edit: Sep 07, 2010, 09:22 pm by scarfwearer
I do know that it was supposedly destined for the Glasgow Police Museum to be displayed from April on*, but don't know whether it got there (I can't see any sign of it on the website). Oh, and that it should be red, in true Glasgow style.

*EDIT: Oh, it says that in the article!
leonard cohen  1934-2016  standing by the window where the light is strong

Mark

Sep 05, 2006, 09:00 pm #4 Last Edit: Sep 07, 2010, 09:22 pm by scarfwearer
From the picture, it does look as though it lives in a junk yard!

Kitchen sink and all

Dori

Sep 06, 2006, 12:38 am #5 Last Edit: Sep 07, 2010, 09:22 pm by scarfwearer
Doesn't look like a Police box lol

ironageman

Sep 06, 2006, 04:33 pm #6 Last Edit: Sep 07, 2010, 09:23 pm by scarfwearer
Oh it's a LITTLE bit Tardis-y! And it would have had a light on the top.

(I suppose it's pushing the definition of 'police box' a bit, as it's from the days before the 'police box system' - I imagine that it could only be used by the police and by those members of the public considered trustworthy enough to have a key.)
leonard cohen  1934-2016  standing by the window where the light is strong

robertpunk

Sep 06, 2006, 11:45 pm #7 Last Edit: Sep 07, 2010, 09:23 pm by scarfwearer
Because it seems quite tall and skinny, I wondered if it was used more like a police post?

starcross

Dec 09, 2017, 08:51 pm #8 Last Edit: Dec 09, 2017, 08:54 pm by starcross
Article - September 1st 2006.JPG

A copy of the article pulled from the Wayback Machine, the original link was long dead.
I can't get anything online to come up for the Evening Times newspaper for the original article. It looks like a library search in person to me if libraries keep newspapers for this long. 

However, this Alistair fellow still appears to be the curator of the Glasgow Police Museum, and it's quite possible to Contact him to find out what happened to this Box. The Glasgow Police Museum has a facebook page, so contact might be quite easy these days.

starcross

Dec 10, 2017, 03:45 pm #9 Last Edit: Dec 10, 2017, 04:13 pm by starcross
Quote from: starcross on Dec 09, 2017, 08:51 pm
it's quite possible to Contact him to find out what happened to this Box.


So I did some more digging and managed to find a picture of the Box as it was on display in 2008.

Source: Hidden Glasgow Forum - Nov 22, 2008
P1150595.jpg

It's painted red, appears to have Police cast in the upper panel, the Glasgow Police Crest in the middle panel, and Box in the lower panel on the Right hand side.  I think the Castings are on both sides, you can see the Crest is cast indented on the back of the left middle panel. The photograph assuming the door opens towards the walkway, shows writing on the left side as well. The back panels are smooth as shown in the article photo.
I would guess that the Door would have the castings on it, although it is the only side that currently has no photos.

The main Body bolts together in 10 main parts.
Three for the body panels (left side, back, right side) which then are bolted together to make three assemblies of Bottom, Middle, and Top (9 castings).

There is one casting for the roof.

There should be one casting for the Door. The Door Casting is Missing, presumably still preserved but removed for display purposes.

Missing is the light fixture that isn't on the top. I assume its a lantern on top because we can see it in the photo of the Box in the old photograph. I would assume that this Lantern was a gas lamp not electric.
However....
The other Possibility is that what we see in the old photograph is an electrical mast. It would be used to pull in power for the light, and also a communications line for the telephone. It's hard to tell with only three photos to work from.  

The Monument - Mark 2 Box - Crop.jpg


The Stick telephone is interesting, nothing better was available at the time.
Handsets weren't really an invention until the mid to late 1920s.
If the article can be believed no one has been inside for a very long time, its possible the phone is authentic and original.

I really want to know more about this!

hb88banzai

Dec 10, 2017, 04:24 pm #10 Last Edit: Dec 10, 2017, 05:16 pm by hb88banzai
Great to finally get more info on this Box. I've been seeing lots of period photos of them, but only that one little original snippet of a photo of the recovered Box in any real detail until now.

Many thanks for finding this! Didn't seem to be available the last time I looked a few years ago.

By all reports the 1912 version was the first equipped with electric signal lights to replace the gas lit types from the 1891 Mark 1's (which also seem to have been retrofitted at some point as some of them remained in service until quite late, as with the http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=4686).

Note that some had ornate lanterns and masts like the above blowup of the http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=6020.0, and some had a simpler, more obviously electric mast and light like that at the http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=4682.0 --

Round_Toll_House_Box-D33-(1932)-Blowup.JPG

Here's the Mark 2 at Garscube Cross with what looks to be a third type, with a line leading from a truncated mast off to a lamp on a pole behind it --

Garscube Cross - 1919 - Blowup.JPG

There were more than just this Box that stuck around for awhile after nominally being replaced by a later Trench type Box, however. Seems to have mostly been when the siting was moved, but the one at Parkhead Cross was still there well into the 60s. No idea what it was being used for - it's replacement was positioned 120 yards or so south of the Cross on Burgher Street (C49).

Here's about the best pic I have of it - circa late 1930s (at the far right) --

Parkhead Cross Mark 2 Box-(circa-late 1930s).jpg

And here it is from some time in the 60s (visible between the water fountain and the Tram control tower, now apparently painted dark grey or blue like the relic found in the wall) --

ParkheadCross-c1960.JPG

starcross

Quote from: starcross on Dec 09, 2017, 08:51 pm
However, this Alistair fellow still appears to be the curator of the Glasgow Police Museum, and it's quite possible to Contact him to find out what happened to this Box. The Glasgow Police Museum has a facebook page, so contact might be quite easy these days.


I've managed to set up a Telephone meeting with Alistair the Curator of the Museum at 10am GMT Tuesday December 12th 2017.
If you have any questions you'd like to ask, by all means write them down, and I'll ask him.

I certainly plan to ask them where they found it in the wall.
Are there any historical photos or Blueprints in the Museum archives.
I also asked if they could take some photos of the preserved box, so maybe those will turn up on the facebook page.

Anything else?

Mark

Nice work Star cross.

My only thoughts are asking about the door and what was found within the box when it was rediscovered.

Maybe ask if he will take a few measurements and email them over perhaps?

starcross

Dec 10, 2017, 10:09 pm #13 Last Edit: Dec 10, 2017, 10:52 pm by starcross
Quote from: Mark on Dec 10, 2017, 10:05 pm
Maybe ask if he will take a few measurements and email them over perhaps?


If it's on display in the museum, detailed  measurements could be taken quite easily in person.
I'm not sure when I'll get back to the UK, but I think it would be worth a trip through Scotland.

I'll definitely ask for the rough size though.
Looking at it I would estimate not more than 3ft wide, 5 feet deep, and maybe 8 ft tall.

hb88banzai

I think what you and Mark brought up pretty much covers it.

Would be nice to know what sort of equipment they found, eg, fire extinguisher, electrical and signalling equipment, etc. Might be too much for a phone conversation though.

Mark, from the photos at the Round Toll, it looks like the door was also iron and of the same pattern as the back (you can see the cutouts for the hinges in the museum pic, so looks like it fit flush), but yeah, would love to confirm.

Oh, Starcross, one thing I would really like to know is what kind of lock and key it had! Type and perhaps manufacturer.