K6 Telephone Kiosk

1599/0/10007 14-DEC-10

LAXTON AND MOORHOUSE HIGH STREET K6 Telephone Kiosk

GV II

K6 telephone kiosk

DESCRIPTION The K6 is a standardised design made of cast iron, painted red overall with long horizontal glazing in the 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. The telephone kiosk's display signs above the doors are faded and discoloured, the cast iron is slightly corroded and the red paint is flaking. It retains ten large and forty-one small glass windows, whilst thirteen large and seven small panes are polycarbonate replacements. One large pane is covered with a steel plate. The kiosk is situated in a central position in the village, adjacent to the Grade I listed Church of St Michael to the south-west and its Grade II listed gate, gate piers and flanking wall, with which it has a close visual relationship and group value.

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.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The K6 telephone kiosk in Laxton, situated in a conservation area, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Design: it is an iconic C20 industrial design by Giles Gilbert Scott * Group Value: it has a close visual relationship with two listed buildings, one of which is listed Grade I