Until the 1930s boys were not allowed to telephone home, and although this rule was gradually relaxed, making a call still necessitated much form filling, the permission of the housemaster, and a convoluted booking system which could take days to produce a time the call could be made.

By the 1970s there were three public coin-operated phones available, although they could only be used after supper and on Sundays.  These were situated on the west of the Quad by the small door leading diagonally to the North Entrance.  As boys queued to make calls, they chatted and absent-mindedly used the coins they were holding to excavate holes in the soft bricks opposite the phones. Over the years some of these holes grew large and the number multiplied. Although the phones were re-located in the late 1970s, the wall with its holes remains.