Should I have specified that my rough guess was a bird's eye view?

A bit of info for you:

Up till the adoption of metric brick sizes in 1965, mass-manufactured Scottish bricks were 3.25 inches tall (England had two imperial-standard sizes for mass-manufactured bricks - 2.625" tall and 2.875" tall)

Since we're in Scotland, and we're pre 1965, we can assume that each brick in the wall behind this box is/was 3.25" tall. There are ten courses of bricks visible behind the box and (possibly) a partial brick visible where the pavement has been dug up to site the box; each layer of bricks is/was bedded on a half-inch layer of mortar (again, 0.5" was the imperial standard for each layer of cement (10 mm thick after 1965)).

So, 10 courses of bricks = 32.5"
      10 layers of cement = 5.0"
Bit at the bottom, approx = 2.5"

Total height of wall to underside of coping stones therefore is approximately 40".

Based on that:



Note, the dimension of 40" for the upper portion of the box is the minimum - this is a single photo which has some lens distortion. Including the pitched roof but not the lamp, we have something a little over eight feet tall. Effectively, this box is the same size as the as the red - contemporaneous, Gilbert Scott K6 telephone boxes so beloved of filmmakers!

Does that help?

T

Well, even while I was making my rough guesses and estimations, I was confident that someone on here would be able to pull actual references! Thanks Tony, and your amazing ability to not only find crucial period data, but then extrapolate using your patented count-the-pixels method! 

The real question now is... why is there a set of (possibly coin operated) weighing scales behind the gentlemen in hats? 

Quote from: Angelus Lupus on Sep 23, 2020, 10:37 amThe real question now is... why is there a set of (possibly coin operated) weighing scales behind the gentlemen in hats? 

Ah ha, there is clearly something going on with police boxes and weight machines 🤔

Quote from: Angelus Lupus on Sep 22, 2020, 11:59 pmShould I have specified that my rough guess was a bird's eye view?

Nope, I know it's a plan view.

South Union Street near the railway station.