The Phone Boxes in Dunkeswell were purchased from BT in late 2018.
They can be found outside of what was the Post Office in the older part of the village and in the entrance way to Dunkeswell Abbey. Both are being used, the one in the old Village having been refurbished back to the 1940’s, reflecting the photograph taken for Life Magazine. The Abbey phone box is used to display information relating to the Abbey ruins and the Archaelogical work carried out there.
The project to refurbish the box outside of the Post Office was started following the purchase of the boxes. In early 2019 work started sourcing the equipment and repairing and making good the box itself. Progress was slowed down by Covid 19 and the lockdowns! But progress was made and today the Box reflects the 1940’s when it was used by many people including the American Airman to call home as photographed for Life magazine.
SouthWest Airfields Heritage Trust have carried out the refurbishment and will be using this as part of the Dunkeswell Heritage Centre Tours, as and when Tours can recommence.
This project could not have happened without the help and support of many people, Dunkeswell Parish Council would like to thank everyone involved in this project, with special thanks to SouthWest Airfield Heritage Trust and their team, who have organised, carried out the work and sourced all the equipment and to Devon County Council who kindly gave us a grant, without which, this project could not have taken place.
The phone box and its history is now preserved for the community, those who used it to keep in touch with family and loved ones, while they were far from home and future generations.
More information about Dunkeswell during the war can be found at https://www.southwestairfields.co.uk/page6.html
More information about Dunkeswell Abbey can be found at https://blackdownhillsaonb.org.uk/project/discovering-dunkeswell-abbey/




