Edinburgh, Cowgate, Police Call Box

Rectangular cast-iron police call box with classical details. Painted blue. 2-bay pilastered long elevations. Single bay elevations with open pediments containing ribboned wreath paterae. Plaque with city arms to door. Saltire glazing pattern to all elevations. Low-pitched roof. This example of an Edinburgh police box is situated prominently beneath stone steps (currently out of use - 2008) leading to High School Yards.

The Edinburgh police box adopts a Classical style to complement the city's classical architecture and while no longer in use for their original pupose, remain a distinctive feature of the city with significant historic and architectural value. Police boxes were introduced to Britain in the late 19th century and become widespread during the 1930s. During this later period, a standard design for Britain was introduced, although Edinburgh did not adopt this and instead the city architect, E J MacRae working with assistants A Rollo and J A Tweedie, designed the Edinburgh box.

Each box was intended to serve as a "miniature police station" for officers on the beat with telephone, incident book, fire extinguisher and first-aid kit inside. The official objectives of the Police Box system included 'communicating information to or from the station' and 'preparing reports on occurrences'. (Historic Environment Scotland)