Building record 410/0/43 - K6 telephone kiosk opposite Glebe House, Staverton

A K6 telephone kiosk, from a design of 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott

{1} Reasons for Designation
The K6 telephone kiosk at the corner of Manor Road and Glebe Road, Staverton, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Design interest: it is an iconic C20 industrial design by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott; * Group value: the telephone kiosk stands next to the Old Post Office and has a strong collective visual relationship with three listed buildings within a Conservation Area.

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. It 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
A K6 telephone kiosk, from a design of 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.
The kiosk stands at the corner of Manor Road and Glebe Road, near the centre of the village of Staverton. It is situated within a Conservation Area and is surrounded by several C18 houses built in local ironstone. The kiosk has a collectively strong visual relationship with three listed buildings; Holly Cottage (Grade II) and Dover Cottage (Grade II) approximately 25m and 30m to the east respectively, and Stonedge (Grade II) approximately 30m to the south.
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.
INTERIOR: the glass is intact; the kiosk houses modernised telephone equipment*.
* Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the modernised telephone equipment is not of special architectural or historic interest.

<1> Historic England, 2016, K6 telephone kiosk opposite Glebe House, Staverton (Designation Advice Report). SNN111786.

Record last edited

Feb 25 2025 7:44PM