The Pillar normally had a capacity of 100 pairs, but latterly a 200 pair version became available, very rarely a shorter 50 pair version was deployed. The pillar was used as a Secondary Cross-connection Point (S.C.P.) between the Primary Cross-connection Point (P.C.P.) the Cabinet and Distribution Point (D.P.) a terminal block mounted on a pole or side of a building. Often pillars were replace with a small cabinet when a larger capacity secondary flexibility point was needed and are rarely seen today.
The original asbestos cement outer cover is secured by a removable long bolt passing from the front to a captive nut at the rear of the cover. The securing bolt is missing in this example, but it has a triangular head that fits the Key, Pillar, this same key fits cabinet doors too. After removing the bolt, the pillar's outer cover is lifted off to reveal a tubular metal container enclosing the connection strip. This is sealed with a rubber gasket held in place with a jubilee clip.
The asbestos cement covers were fragile and easily damaged or vandalised, during the seventies a fibreglass replacement became available and was designed to slip over the existing asbestos cement base. This example is approximately 3 ft. high and 8½ in. in diameter.
