POLICE PILLARS/KIOSKS - LONDON

The whole of London used Police systems. They were located in both the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police areas. The main difference was the colour of the paint and lantern lens colour.

City of London Police Posts were painted Light Blue and the Metropolitan Police Posts, Dark Blue. But the City of London Posts turned Dark Blue for a while in the 80s/90s, when someone who neither knew or cared used the Dark Blue shade.

The P.A. 350 Police Telephone System was used in the area covered by the Metropolitan Police in London, UK and these used clear lenses in the lanterns. The rest of the country and the City of London Police used the standard amber coloured lens with the P.A. 450 system (which superseded the P.A. 350).

The systems were in use until the early 1960's when radios were rolled out to all Police Officers, thus making the systems redundant.

The Kiosks and Pillars were left in situ and removed piecemeal. In the 1980's most were sold off and are now in the hands of collectors.

Then in the 2000's the 8 pillars remaining in the City of London were listed Grade II and a company called Rupert Harris restored them. Click here for more information.

The London Grade II listed Police pillars are located at:-

Location	Nearest Underground Station
Aldgate (St Botolph's Church)	Aldgate
Liverpool Street EC2 (East side)	Liverpool St
Queen Victoria Street / Friday Street	Mansion House
Walbrook (Mansion House)	Bank / Mansion House
Guildhall Yard EC2 (Gresham Street)	Bank / Mansion House
St Martins Le Grand, EC1 (Postman's Park)	St Pauls
Old Broad Street (Adams Court) and Throgmorton St	Bank / Liverpool St
Victoria Embankment (South side)	Temple / Blackfriars

Find the locations on Google Maps
The posts are marked in purple

Walking tour
The suggested way to view these pillars is by foot. One walk starts at Aldgate Underground station and then walk to the Pillars at:-

Aldgate - Liverpool Street - Old Broad Street - Walbrook - Guildhall Yard - St Martins Le Grand - Queen Victoria Street - Victoria Embankment - and finally westwards for Temple Underground Station.

The above route is approximately 3.6kms / 2.3 miles.

The route passes close to the Bank of England, Mansion House, Postman/s Park, St Pauls, The Mermaid, The Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern, Blackfriars Bridge and Westminster Embankment.

The route will allow for a longer walk across the Thames to the Southbank, via the Millennium Bridge, past the Tate Modern and then back to the Victoria Embankment via Blackfriars Bridge.

Pictures of the existing
London, Grade II Listed, Police Pillars
This section of pictures is by permission of Simon Cowper-Smith
https://www.transconnect.co.uk/police call points/index.html