K6 Telephone Kiosk Adjacent To Village Stocks

WITHAM ON THE HILL

TF01NE MAIN STREET 1507/0/10017 (North side) 06-OCT-09 K6 Telephone Kiosk adjacent to Village Stocks

GV II

Also Known As: K6 Kiosk, MAIN STREET 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.

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 10,000 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. The date of this example is not known.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The K6 telephone kiosk in Witham on the Hill is designated at Grade II for the following reason: * It is a well preserved example of Giles Gilbert Scott's iconic design within a village setting * It has a strong visual relationship with two listed buildings, including a Grade I church

Listing NGR TL4473758940