New phone box museum brings Dartmoor mine back to life in Mary Tavy

A classic red telephone box in the village of Mary Tavy has been reimagined as the smallest museum on Dartmoor, introducing visitors to the rich mining history of Wheal Friendship, once one of the most important copper and arsenic mines in the country.

Opening on May 7, the restored K6 Phone Box Museum offers a brief history of the mine, the people who worked there, and the community that grew around it.

Though small in scale, the museum provides a fascinating snapshot of the mine that dominated the village for two centuries.

To encourage further exploration, the museum is accompanied by a guided walk leaflet leading visitors to key mining landmarks throughout the village, as well as a dedicated website for those wanting to learn more.

“Mary Tavy played a significant role in Dartmoor’s industrial past, but to the passer-by, the legacy of the mines is largely hidden,” says Bryonie Baxter, Project Lead. 

“I wanted to create something that would help people see the landscape with fresh eyes.”

“When the phone box was decommissioned, it presented the perfect opportunity. Not only can we preserve this iconic K6 phone box, but we can help visitors understand how mining shaped not just the land but the community around it.”

The project has been generously funded by a Farming in Protected Landscapes community grant via Dartmoor National Park Authority, enabling the K6 phone box to be restored, reglazed, and repainted.

Located at the top of Bal Lane in Mary Tavy, the museum sits just off the A386 and National Cycle Route 27, making it an ideal stopping point for walkers, cyclists, and history lovers alike. 

The location itself is historically significant. 

Bal Lane takes its name from the Cornish word for mine and was once the daily route taken by miners and bal maidens on their way to Wheal Friendship.

“BT earmarked the phone box for decommissioning and the parish council asked if anyone was interested in adopting it so it wouldn’t be taken away. I proposed the museum, which they were happy with, so the council adopted the box for £1 and let me run with the idea,” Bryonie explains. 

“I approached the DNPA’s Farming In Protected Landscapes for a community grant to restore the box, so that paid for new glazing, which was by far the largest cost, as well as covering the printing costs. As well as the box restoration, I have got the hedge behind professionally laid to better show off the box.”

Bryonie also enlisted Dartmoor guide Paul Rendell to help plot out a guided walk around the village, marking the key sites of mining history. The walk's leaflet can be picked up at the museum or downloaded from the website.

“I have put all the research I have found on the website but I want it to be a living archive so if anyone has any photos or information, I’d love to see it and include it on the website,” she says.

The location of the box is ideal. It’s just off the A386 in the centre of the village and sits on a National Cycle Route, meaning it receives plenty of passing visitors.

The project could not have been completed without the work and contributions of many individuals and organisations. 

Bryonie Baxter led the project, with historical research provided by Paul Rendell, Chris Wordingham, and Sharon Gedye. 

Ken Brown Builders carried out the essential building work, and Natasha Law designed the logo. 

The landscaping and hedgelaying was done by Dave Haydon, while Chris Jordan provided cabinet-making expertise. 

DartPrint handled the design, and Tavy Signs produced the signage. 

The phone box itself was sponsored by Mary Tavy Parish Council, and the project was funded by the Farming In Protected Landscapes programme through Dartmoor National Park Authority.