Building record 1934/0/4 - K6 Telephone Kiosk, Main Street

{1} The K6 is a standardised design made of cast iron, painted red overall with long horizontal glazing in the door and sides and with the crowns situated on the top panels being applied not perforated. There are rectangular white display signs, reading TELEPHONE beneath the shallow-curved roof. The telephone kiosk has modernised internal equipment. It is in a good state of repair and retains its glass windows. The kiosk is situated on Main Street in a central position in the village. It is located opposite the Grade II listed Bakehouse Cottage and can be seen from two other Grade II listed buildings, Chestnut Cottage and Grange Farmhouse, with which it has a strong visual relationship collectively.
HISTORY: The K6 telephone kiosk is a milestone of C20 industrial design. The K6 was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935 for the General Post Office, on the occasion of King George V’s Silver Jubilee. The K6 was a development from his earlier highly successful K2 telephone kiosk design of 1924, of Neo-classical inspiration. The K6 was more streamlined aesthetically, more compact and more cost-effective to mass produce. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) was one of the most important of modern British architects; his many celebrated commissions include the Anglican cathedral of Liverpool and Battersea power station. The K2 and K6 telephone kiosks can be said to represent a very thoughtful adaptation of architectural tradition to contemporary technological requirements. Well over 70,000 K6s were eventually produced. In the 1960s many were replaced with far plainer kiosk types but many still remain, and continue to be an iconic feature on Britain’s streetscapes.
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The K6 telephone kiosk in Slipton, designed in 1935, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Design: it is an iconic C20 industrial design by Giles Gilbert Scott.
* Group Value: it has a close visual relationship with three Grade II listed buildings collectively.

{2} Photo dated 18.03.1993;

<1> Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2011, Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 Amendment to the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, (checked) (Document). SNN107292.

<2> Photographs of buildings in Lowick (Photographs). SNN112775.

Record last edited

Nov 10 2021 12:41PM