Can anyone tell me what this electrical wiring thing is?

[altercation]

These black circular thingies are in a cupboard near the front door of the house we've just moved into (built 1940ish). Anyone know what they are?

Something to do with an old doorbell maybe?

Junction boxes

We had them in the house that I grew up in , I think they are junction boxes . But I am not a expert so dont go prodding it with a screw driver

Doorbell flex is often quite thin. TBH if you have electrical fittings that dated I’d get it all checked over by an electrician before you start doing anything to the house and brace yourself for a rewire.

Junction boxes?

ooh x post

Definitely junction boxes

They will be 240 volt btw

DP (electrician) says they are old melamine electrical connection boxes (joint boxes) - they look in good condition though and should be fine to be left. They will contain live wiring for something.

They are junction boxes. Wiring in my house was put in 1930 ish, we still have a couple but had the fuse box replaced last year, no more massive bakelite things with easily replaced fusewire (but at least we're safe in our beds now...)

Yes, junction boxes - where two or more cables are joined together.

Definitely junction boxes (I was skivvy to my Dad, an electrician, for many years). The boxes themselves look in good nick on the outside but that doesn't mean the wiring has been done correctly - junction boxes are / were often used by amateurs who don't know what they are doing.

They may or may not be live. If you are concerned, you can check that by getting a meter from a hardware shop (they look like pens and light up in the presence of live wiring).

First time posting here so bear with. This is a junction box made of Bakelite and they were common in wiring installations until the 1980s you say you just moved in so i assume a wiring survey was carried out. If not you might consider getting one done by a reputable company as your installation is a little dated. That being said this box looks to be in good condition no cracks or discolouration. The cables are flex rather than the type used for so called fixed wiring, is it going to something like your hot tank? If so have a chat with a friendly sparky and get it looked at otherwise leave it alone its OK. If you are planning to move it be careful it will be live at mains voltage and opening it exposes the cable connections in a dangerous way. Hope this helps, I am an electrician BTW. :)

Junction boxes yes. Difficult to identify whether its lighting flex or immersion heater cable. Both will be 240v. Using the coat hook as a scale its possibly the latter. You must get it checked either way because its in a place where it could get knocked about.