AA Box 442 in Wensleydale: The Grade II-listed roadside box which is a relic of a bygone motoring age

Roadside boxes began appearing to provide shelter for its “watchmen” road patrols but in 1920 every AA member was given a key to the boxes, which were equipped with local maps and basic tools.

Later on they included one-button telephones, and stranded motorists simply gave the number of the box and waited for help.

Because the interiors were illuminated by oil lamps they become known as “the lighthouses of the road”.

Box 442 was positioned on the south side of the A684 between Aysgarth and West Witton in Wensleydale.

Its rectangular, timber construction and winged AA logo are said to date it to the mid-1950s, when the AA introduced its Mk IV box made by Enham Industries in Hampshire.

The black and yellow livery and distinctive cross-gable roof was then the standard design.

Production of boxes ceased in 1967, and with most drivers using mobile phones to request assistance the network was finally shut down by the AA in 2002.

In the space of 90 years over a thousand AA boxes were positioned on Britain’s road network and in Yorkshire the number ran well into double figures including, for example, boxes on the A61 Ripon-Thirsk road at Baldersby, the A65 Settle-Kendal road at Clapham and the Selby Fork A1/A63 junction to the east of Leeds.

Today, Box 442 in Wensleydale stands as a relic of a bygone motoring age.

It is one of just 14 left on UK roads and protected as a Grade II listed building.

The box and a small garden have been maintained by a succession of volunteers since its closure.