Gwaelod-y -Garth residents raise nearly £3,000 for a defibrillator to be installed inside iconic red box
VILLAGERS have raised thousands of pounds to breathe new life into an historic phone box by fitting a defibrillator inside.
The Grade II-listed red kiosk in Gwaelod-y-Garth is among a number of underused payphones that have been put up for adoption by BT across Wales.
Robert Pearson, landlord of the Gwaelod Y Garth Inn, spearheaded the campaign to adopt the red box on Main Road and repurpose it for a rural village where ambulance response times can be critical.
“We do have a defib here at the village hall, but it is a quarter of a mile away from where the inn is, and we found out that it had been broken for about three months,” the landlord said.
“We need to have a backup – and there is this old telephone box in the village.”
Gwaelod-y-Garth’s little red relic is a K6 kiosk, the model most associated with Britain’s iconic phone boxes.
The K6 was the sixth of eight models of phonebox introduced by the General Post Office between 1926 and 1983.
It was designed by British architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the coronation of King George V. Some 60,000 were installed in 1936 – in Bermuda, Malta and Gibraltar, as well as in Britain.
Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, granted Gwaelod-y-Garth’s K6 kiosk Grade II status in 1991, recognising its historical significance.
BT says the phone – which still works – registered zero phone calls in the last 12 months. The threshold for decomissioning is less than 52 calls a year.
Installed in 1955, the phone box has done well to survive this long as it was first earmarked for decommissioning by BT in 2009.
However, the kiosk was repurposed as a little library, which has since been lovingly maintained by residents Bobbie Allen MacNiven-Young and Gaynor Thomas.
“I came to live back in Gwaelod after a 13-year absence, and I was really pleased to see that the phone box had become a community library – I immediately wanted to become involved,” said Ms Allen MacNiven-Young.
“We tidied it up, cleared out the legacy donations which were a little mildewed, kept the ones which were still in good condition, and vowed to keep a good eye on the box itself.
“I want to see this phone box used rather than left to its own devices, and the defibrillator is going to be a welcome addition. The book exchange is a bonus.”
In September 2024 the inn began to raise funds for the defibrillator from their quiz night, and later set a crowdfunding target of £1,000 set to cover the installation and running costs.
The efforts received significant boost in December when Peter Anning, who lives in the village, donated money from his Christmas ‘bauble trail’ using a QR code.
And the community’s response has exceeded all expectations, with more than £1,800 raised on a JustGiving page alone.
The defibrillator itself is paid for by a grant from Calon Hearts, a Welsh charity that places defibrillators in communities and provides the supplementary training. The cost of installing a defibrillator ranges from £1,000 to £1,800. The cost for powering the device is around £10 to £30 per year and the replacement of the battery will total £120 to £160 every five years.
Mr Pearson estimates that the village has almost £3,000 ready to use.
Pentyrch Community Council is awaiting final permission to formally adopt the phone box on behalf of the village, as businesses like the inn do not meet BT’s criteria to do so.
Once adopted, the phone box will undergo a fresh coat of paint and safety checks before the defibrillator is installed. It is hoped the work will be finished in the spring.
The library will continue for now, but the books may be relocated. ‘Librarian’ Ms Allen MacNiven-Young believes that the historic kiosk’s latest change of role shows that, even if fashion has changed, it is still a vital part of the community.
“Phone boxes are a clear reminder within the community of a focal point,” she said.
“There is still a little red heartbeat at the centre of our village.”
- Visit the crowdfunding page here.
- To learn more about repurposing phone boxes as medical units, visit Calon Hearts and BT.
