Chester Road, AA Box 372 at Mere Corner

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 16 Apr 2013

Once a familiar sight on Britain’s roads, there were over 1000 of these black and yellow AA telephone boxes. They were originally intended as shelters and known as sentry boxes for watchmen who could provide help. Uniformed patrol men at the boxes would salute passing motorists who displayed the AA badge. Later, members were issued with keys and could use the boxes to summon help. Use of the boxes declined from around the mid 1960s and the network was finally shut down in 2002. According to the AA’s website (http://www.theaa.com/aboutaa/history.html#tabview%3Dtab4 ) there are only 19 of these wooden sentry boxes remaining in roadside locations. Call box 372 is believed to date from the 1930s; it was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1987 (http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-58578-aa-box-372-at-mere-corner-mere- British Listed Buildings) and was refurbished in 1950s style in 1995. The present box at Mere Corner is a replica; the original box was destroyed in a traffic accident in December 1997. Because of its listed status, the fully-operational replica box was erected in 1998.

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