"Peter Watson" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know why wooden boxes fell out of favour? On a more general
point why was it comon to uses wooden boxes for light switches but metal
boxes for sockets (at least in my 1959 house)?

I thought at that time it was more common to make a hole in the skirting
board and screw a single socket directly to the wood at just the correct
height to stop a plug being used without putting massive strain on the flex.
Along with the then requirement to have three 4mm^2 cables twisted tightly
together and cut to the shortest possible length as to fit in the terminals.

--
Adam