Porch. This is a Siemens 311 wall 'phone. It is the wall equivalent of the 200 series telephones, but it was never adopted by the British Post Office. They were made in the UK and this one was exported to Canada.

This is connected to port 21 of my BT Inspiration and configured as a hotline. When the handset is lifted you are connected to the speaking clock (TIM 2000). It will still accept incoming calls from other extensions. It has a lovely mellow ring - the nicest of all my phones.

Kitchen. This is my Renters A+B Box.

This would typically have been used in a hotel or pub. This one came from Southport. It is missing the cash tray - I'll have to try and make a replacement.

When I got the coin box it had been decimalised. I have reverse-engineered the mechanism to take pennies, sixpences and shillings. Four pennies are required to make a call!

I was lucky enough to find an original coiin denomination plate.

This is a bell 1A which is slightly shorter than the bellset 1 and contains only the bell mechanism.

It is connected to the central bell contacts of the BT Inspiration and can be configured to ring on incoming calls.

Bathroom. This is an example of the highly collectible Ericofon.

This masterpice of telephone design is very pleasing to look at and also to use. I think the design still looks modern despite the fact that the first Ericofons rolled off the production line in 1954!

You can read more about the Ericofon, it's design and history by visiting the Ericofon home page www.ericofon.com

Inner Hall. On the wall is a rather nice GEC wall phone. It it is part of a private intercom system and I was told it came out of a solicitor's office in Preston. I had the chance of buying a pair at £12 each, but being a student I could only afford one...

The knob for changing lines is a replacement, but other than that it is in excellent condition.

It is not used as a telephone, but it's D.C. bell makes a perfect door bell!

Living Room. On the left is my only coloured thermo-set plastic phone. These are actually made of Urea Formaldehyde rather than bakelite. This is a Siemens model 356. It was supplied for use on a private system. This is a lovely example and has hardly had any use. It still has it's original cords - the line cord is plaited and the handset cord is braided. It also retains the gold "Siemens Brothers London" transfer on the front.

Here is my Tele 150 (candlestick) telephone complete with it's Bellset No 1. This telephone has been factory modified from a Tele 2. The unit next to it is an Autodial No.1. This was used by the busy secretary to dial pre-programmed numbers by lifting the reciever, selecting the number to dial and pressing the lever. This one dates from 1933.

The Tele 150 is the only telephone I would never consider parting with as my wife gave it to me instead of a wedding ring!

This is a Tele 248 complete with Bellset 44. This combination was used on GPO "Plan 7" extension systems. Typically this would be a manager / secretary scenario. The secretary would have the main phone and the manager would have the extension.

Persons of a certain age may recognize Windy Miller and Mrs. Honeyman in this shot!

This is a Tele 330CB with "Call Main" button. This is the extension telephone which works alongside the above "Plan 7" main station. Pressing the button rings the buzzer in the main station. Pressing the button on the main station rings the d.c. bell attached to the extension. This system is fully operational, but it is not possible to use electronic transmitters as the 4.5V speech battery will not power them.

This is a Fonadek unit. The idea is that you place a 164 type handset on the Fonadek and make a call as normal. The Fondek amplifies the received signal and speech is heard through a loudspeaker.

Your voice is amplified by the parabolic recess in the front of the unit which focusses the sound on the transmitter. There is a volume control on the side. It works really well (though my Dad says I sound as if I'm in Timbuktoo whenever I use it).

The above three telephones are all connected as extensions on my CB935 1+3 PMBX. If you want to ring an extension you depress the relavent key (bottom row) and wind the magneto handle on the right side of the case.

When an extension goes off hook the relavent dollseye indicator operates. An incoming exchange line call is indicated by a drop-flap indicator.

This is the operators telephone (a Tele 232) which is used in conjunction with the PMBX above. The dial can be used to place external trunk calls.

The key on the very right of the top row of the PMBX is the Operator Phone key and when switched in the same direction as one of the extension keys it allows the operator to talk to that extension.

This unit sits alongside the operator phone and the PMBX. It was invented by Donald Macadie and is known as a Keysender No 5. It allowed operators to dial numbers quicker than they could with an ordinary dial. It is an amazing mechanism as you can dial really quickly and it "remembers" what you have dialed and carries on pulse dialing at the standard rate. I suppose this is the predecessor of all push-button phones.

The unit was designed for use on larger manual cord switchboards.

My A+B button coin collection box is temporarily located in the living room. This one is from Ireland and originally had no internal bell. - I have now fitted a bellset 33.

The mechanism has been decimalised, but I have fitted a reproduction "Penny, Shilling and Sixpence" plate to the top. It is also fitted with a genuine GPO No 6 Cash Tray lock.

This is destined for the K6 kiosk (see News & projects page).

This is a Tele 238. This telephone was specifically for use with CCBs like the one above. It is fitted with a modified dial which only allows "0" (the Operator) or "9" (i.e. 999) to be dialled initially by the caller without inserting money into the CCB.

This is now connected to the CCB and it all works as it should, just needs a restored kiosk!

This is my "Scrambler" telephone. I am slowly acquiring more information about this phone. Luckily it still has its original connection box. It dates from 1945. See News & projects page for more information.

Main Bedroom. This is an Ericsson 1000 series telephone. Never adopted by the GPO (they were busy developing the 706) it was used on private systems. All bakelite, it is more rounded than the 300 series.

I can use the "Alarm Call" facility on the BT Inspiration to wake me in the morning by ringing this telephone - great fun!

Christopher's Room. Christopher has a red "Direct Line Insurance" telephone in his room. In front of the real phone is a matchbox toy phone which rings like the advert when the buttons are pressed.

Spare Room. This is the telephone which got me interested in phones - an 8756. The 756 was based on a 746 with the addition of push-buttons to replace the dial. The 8 prefix means it left the factory with the new plug-in jack.