I have seen quite a few of those "octopus" boxes, but a rectangular version. A local council estate, built in the late 60s used them in every house and they came with a kind of "wire-by-numbers" set up. Basically, pre-cut lengths of cable with labels on either end. All the semi-skilled electricians had to do was put them in place as per plan. The skilled guys then did the testing and inspection - just shows that even back then they wanted to cut labour costs!
