A familiar ring: Hull’s 1960s cream telephone boxes – in pictures

Growing up in Hull, Esther Johnson loved the city’s distinctive cream telephone boxes. They are cream instead of red because Hull was the only place in England where the local council ran the public phone network. The artist and film-maker has now tracked down and photographed the remaining K8 kiosks, designed by architect Bruce Martin in 1965. ‘It’s a slick, functional design – modern and quite space-age, for the time,’ Johnson says. Nine of these kiosks, in the local Honeysuckle Cream tone, were given Grade II-listed status in February 2023. ‘The series isn’t just about nostalgia – it’s about noticing what’s in your environment and preserving these things for future generations,’ says Johnson. ‘Hull sometimes gets a bad rap, but there’s a lot of charm to the city’

• The Beacons of Hull is published by The Modernist

Springbank West.

Holderness Road.

Willerby Road.

Holderness Road, Village Road.

Great Union Street, Citadel Way.

Great Union Street, Citadel Way.

Springbank West.

Holderness Road, Village Road.

New Cleveland Street.

Hotham Road South.

Moorfoot Close, Lothian Way.

Swanland Main Street.