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The Somerton TARDIS is a 
During the 1980s local residents painted a long multi-coloured scarf on the blue police box as worn by the Fourth Doctor, played by actor Tom Baker 1974–1981.
The earliest UK police boxes were made of wood, but the Somerton box is a concrete construction. Consequently, it deteriorated over the years, largely due to
A famous blue police box is saved from destruction by Doctor Who fans
The Times
Wales "Tardis" given £10,000
News Wales
– shows a photo of the Somerton TARDIS
Google Earth view
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerton Tardis Buildings and structures in Newport, Wales Grade II listed buildings in Newport, Wales Culture in Newport, Wales Landmarks in Newport, Wales Doctor Who
The Somerton TARDIS is a Police box
A police box is a public telephone kiosk or callbox for the use of members of the police, or for members of the public to contact the police. It was used in the United Kingdom throughout the 20th century from the early 1920s. Unlike an ordinar ...
on Acacia Avenue beside the B4237 road (Chepstow Road) in the Somerton Somerton may refer to:
Places Australia
* Somerton, New South Wales
* Somerton Park, South Australia, a seaside Adelaide suburb
** Somerton Man, unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead in 1948 on the Somerton Park beach
* Somerton, Victoria ...
area of Newport, South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
. This police box is the only remaining one of four that were in Newport. It is a Grade II listed building.
Police boxes were deployed in the UK as a police telephone communications point before public telephone boxes were widely available. Patrolling police officers or members of the public could contact the local police station using the telephone accessed via an external flap. Internally, the box was a miniature police station. The Somerton police box has a lamp fixing on top which would flash to indicate an incoming call.
The first UK police boxes were deployed in 1888; the familiar 'TARDIS' shape first appeared in 1929. UK police discontinued use of such boxes by 1969 with the advent of police personal radios for mobile communications.
The Somerton police box became known in Newport as the TARDIS as a reference to the television series ''Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', in which the Doctor's time machine appears as a police box due to its chameleon circuit being stuck.
During the 1980s local residents painted a long multi-coloured scarf on the blue police box as worn by the Fourth Doctor, played by actor Tom Baker 1974–1981.
The earliest UK police boxes were made of wood, but the Somerton box is a concrete construction. Consequently, it deteriorated over the years, largely due to concrete cancer
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse construction aggregate, aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after wa ...
. In January 2010 a grant of £10,500 was allocated by Cadw
(, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...
to restore the structure as a recognition of its importance as a local landmark.
See also
*References
External links
A famous blue police box is saved from destruction by Doctor Who fans
The Times
Wales "Tardis" given £10,000
News Wales
– shows a photo of the Somerton TARDIS
Google Earth view
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerton Tardis Buildings and structures in Newport, Wales Grade II listed buildings in Newport, Wales Culture in Newport, Wales Landmarks in Newport, Wales Doctor Who