K6 Telephone Kiosk

CALDECOTT

1895/0/10001 MAIN STREET 04-OCT-10 K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK

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. It retains all glass windows with the exception of two.

The kiosk is situated on the village green. Immediately opposite, approximately 30m to the north east, stands 1 The Green (Grade II). The Old Plough (Grade II) is located approximately 30m to the south east, and standing at the same distance to the north west is Monkey Tree Cottage (Grade II). The kiosk stands at the centre of this group of three listed buildings.

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 Caldecott, Rutland, is recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It has a strong visual relationship with three listed buildings * It is a representative example within a village setting of this important C20 industrial design