Amberley Working Museum

The Connected Earth building at the museum houses a special collection on the theme of living and working in the telecommunications age and features the development of the telephone itself, along with the stories of the people involved, particularly the operators and engineers. Phone boxes, switchboards, telephone poles, manholes and vehicles are all included, with many working items and displays.

Within the Telephone Room, the development of the telephone is traced through the decades - right up to the present day. There is a range of period pieces on display, including a candlestick telephone. Wallboards display a range of bells designed for specific situations, such as calling out firemen, fire alarms and for telephones used in noisy conditions.

The Exchange Room shows a 1950s-style office switchboard and equipment showing how telephone calls were connected using both automatic and manual exchanges. Alongside the public manual board positions is an amateur film taken in 1964 for the retirement of the then Chief Supervisor of Worthing Telephone Exchange, Miss Brice. The film gives an insight into one of the largest manual exchanges in the country.

Porthcurno Telegraph Museum

Porthcurno in Cornwall is one of the UK's most important historic communications sites and home to the award-winning Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, housed in an underground second world war building.

In 1870, when Porthcurno first became a communications centre, pioneering engineers were just beginning to create their own "Victorian Internet". Using the most advanced technology of their day, they laid a telegraph cable network which transformed the speed of communication to the British Empire and beyond. Porthcurno was at the centre of this Imperial network where the cables were landed on beach.

By the second world war, Porthcurno’s communications centre had become so important that it was moved into a bomb-proof, gas-proof, underground building. From here vital and secret messages were transmitted around the world. Today, the tunnels house the museum in which you can see working equipment from the Victorian age and second world war.

Visitors to the museum can find out all about the Victorian Internet and the secret wartime communications. They can also find out about the social history of the parish of St Levan in the local history centre.

Milton Keynes Museum

The museum has an excellent collection of telephone equipment. Many of the telephones on display are in working order and visitors are encouraged to try them out. The collection includes a number of historic and interesting telephones which are also known as "subscriber instruments". These date from 1900 to the present day. Other telephones on display include a limited edition "Jubilee" telephone, Army field telephones (some with Morse tappers) and engineers' test telephones.

The Museum also boasts a wide range of switchboards, telephone vehicles and a small number of telephone boxes can be found around the site.

Liverpool Cathedral

It's hard to imagine this Gothic masterpiece and the functional red telephone box being designed by the same person, but Giles Gilbert Scott was indeed responsible for both. In 1902 he entered the competition to design a new Anglican cathedral in Liverpool. At the age of just 22, he won this prestigious architectural contest.

The poet Sir John Betjeman called it “one of the great buildings of the twentieth century”. Its awesome architecture, inside and out, and panoramic views from the tower are well worth a visit.

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings

The National Telephone Kiosk Collection opened at Avoncroft in 1994 with the aid of BT and includes examples of every type of GPO and BT telephone kiosk from the 1920s to the present day.  The collection forms part of BT's Connected Earth initiative, officially launched in April by Tessa Jowell MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

There are more than 25 telephone kiosks in the collection, representing most styles and designs.  They have been restored and enhanced by brand new information panels, featuring many historic images dug up from the BT Archives.  The area also features street furniture, police boxes, (including the famous Doctor Who 'Tardis' design) and roadside assistance boxes, as well as a 1950s telephone exchange in a wooden building.  Volunteer guides showing visitors how the phones work, and they can make calls from one box to another, using coins and a telephone dial.