Police Call Posts

Whilst walking through Postman’s park and onto St Martins le grand I stumbled across a Police call post.

Police call posts appear as small cast-iron towers that were made in the late 1920’s and were sited throughout the City of London. The posts enabled the public to call a Police station and were also used for the station to contact the ‘Bobbies’ on the beat in that area. They had a red signal light on the top, which would flash if the Constable were required to contact the station. They had an upper hatch that opened to give access to the telephone; a middle door that opened horizontally to provide a writing surface, and lower door opened to a storage cupboard containing first aid kit.

The Police call posts saw a decline in use during the 1960s, they portray today a historical reminder of days gone by before the advancement of technology which led to modern policing.

The 8 Police call posts that still survive today which are Grade II listed and restored to their original design, can be found at the following locations:

St Martins Le Grand (Entrance to Postman’s Park)

Victoria Embankment (Near the City Boundary Dragons)

Aldgate (Outside St Botolph’s Church)

Walbrook (Near Mansion House)

Friday Street at the corner of Queen Victoria Street

Guildhall Yard (Gresham Street)

Liverpool Street (East side of the station)

Old Broad Street (By Adam’s Court)

 

  Police Call Post St Martins Le Grand entrance to Postman’s Park