Pay phone Story

The history of the Payphone

UK-KPR05 Machin Mercury head box

Name Machin Mercury Head-Box Kiosk Date 1988 Manufacturer Mercury Usage Public call box Further notes The Mercury Public telephone designed by Machin Architect which won the competition in 1988Mercury payphones were introduced in the UK during the late 1980s as part of the effort to break British Telecom’s monopoly on telecommunications. Operated by Mercury Communications,…

Name	Machin Mercury Head-Box Kiosk
Date	1988
Manufacturer	Mercury
Usage	Public call box

Further notes

The Mercury Public telephone designed by Machin Architect which won the competition in 1988
Mercury payphones were introduced in the UK during the late 1980s as part of the effort to break British Telecom’s monopoly on telecommunications. Operated by Mercury Communications, (later absorbed by Cable & Wireless), the service aimed to provide competition in both business and public telephony. Mercury installed its own payphone kiosks, often with modern designs and electronic features, particularly in urban centres like London, Manchester, and Birmingham. These kiosks were distinctive, often branded in Mercury’s grey and purple corporate colours. However, the venture struggled financially and logistically, facing challenges with site permissions, vandalism, and low profitability. By the mid-1990s, Mercury’s payphone division was taken over by IPM, which scrapped most original kiosks and replaced them with their own designs. The service faded into obscurity, with only a few relics and scattered installations surviving into the 21st century. Mercury’s short-lived foray into public payphones remains a notable chapter in the story of UK telecom deregulation.

Below- Mercury kiosks in Waterloo, June 1989 (with thanks to Marty Arr)