Building record 4304/0/22 - K6 Telephone Kiosk, Main Street

{1} Summary of Building
K6 telephone kiosk designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935.

Reasons for Designation
* Design: it is an iconic C20 industrial design by Giles Gilbert Scott
* Group Value: it has group value with a Grade II listed building and a Grade II* listed church

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.

Details
The K6 is a standardised design made of cast iron, painted red overall with long horizontal glazing in 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 kiosk has modernised internal equipment. The red paint is flaking in many places and twelve of its glass panes have been replaced with polycarbonate. It is located opposite the Grade II* listed Church of St Catherine and the Grade II listed Church Farmhouse, with which it has a strong visual relationship.

Selected Sources
None

<1> ENGLISH HERITAGE, Ongoing, National Heritage List for England, (checked) (Website). SNN107872.

Record last edited

Oct 29 2012 1:09PM