K6 Telephone Kiosk

714-1/0/10110

THORESBY PLACE K6 Telephone Kiosk

02-JUN-09

II K6 telephone kiosk

DESCRIPTION: 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. It has modernised internal equipment. No windows remain on the south side of the kiosk, and two are missing from the north side. All the remaining windows are Perspex. The interior of the roof has had a panel installed to accept Wi-Fi.

The kiosk stands at a crossroads in Leeds City Centre, directly adjacent to the Grade I listed Leeds General Infirmary at its south west corner. The Infirmary's boundary wall and railings with gate piers and gates are listed at Grade II. Across the street from the kiosk stands St George's Church (Grade I) and the Church's boundary wall and railings (Grade II). The telephone kiosk has a strong visual relationship with these four listed buildings collectively. There is furthermore an historical connection between the kiosk and Leeds General Infirmary, as the architect of the latter, Sir George Gilbert Scott, was the grandfather of the architect of the former, Giles Gilbert Scott.

HISTORY: The K6 telephone kiosk is a milestone of C20 industrial design. The K6 was designed by 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. 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 Thoresby Place, Leeds, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It has a strong visual relationship with four listed buildings collectively, including the Grade I listed hospital, designed by the kiosk designer's grandfather Sir George Gilbert Scott * It is a representative example within an urban setting of this important C20 industrial design

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