Helen Northcott
Helen Northcott has photographed Dartmoor's remaining red phone boxes
Many of Dartmoor's phone boxes have been put to good use
Helen Northcott’s winter photography exhibition was cancelled due to the pandemic but has now been re-scheduled to appear in Dartmoor libraries this summer.
The iconic red telephone box, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, first appeared on the streets of Britain back in 1925. However, it is now in danger of vanishing from our streets and Dartmoor’s red telephone boxes are slowly disappearing from our towns and villages. Dartmoor Photographer, Helen Northcott decided to embark on a personal project to record for posterity the remaining red telephone boxes within Dartmoor National Park.
She has spent two years researching and documenting the iconic, red telephone boxes within the boundary of the national park. The resulting exhibition showcases the remaining 70 red telephone boxes. Of those remaining, just 43 telephone boxes are still operational with working telephones, some of these are under threat of removal due to lack of use, and may even have already been lost since the start of the project. While some of the redundant telephone boxes stand empty awaiting adoption or removal, many have already been adopted by local communities and repurposed so their future is secured.
In Princetown one of two telephone boxes on the main road through the village has been adopted by the parish council and reused as a memorial to commemorate the service personnel who fought during the two world wars. Other boxes like the ones at Hexworthy and Belstone have been pressed into service to house their community defribrillators. Across the moor redundant telephone boxes are also being used as informal libraries, village notice boards and even as a cake stall.
You can view the exhibition in Moretonhampstead Library, Princetown Library and Tavistock Library this summer.
Moretonhampstead Library: Tuesday 1st to Tuesday 29th June
Princetown Library: Monday 5th to Wednesday 28th July
Tavistock Library: Monday 2nd to Saturday 28th August
Please check dartmoorphotographer.co.uk for more details about the exhibition, as well as the latest information about dates and opening times.