K6 Telephone Kiosk

GONALSTON

1053/0/10005 K6 Telephone Kiosk 14-DEC-10

GV II K6 telephone kiosk

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 kiosk has a missing door handle and two of the telephone signs are damaged. It retains all its glass windows. The kiosk is located in the centre of the village, directly adjacent to the Grade II listed Smithy and a short distance south-east of the Grade II listed Manor Farm House. It has group value with both these listed buildings, especially with the Smithy with which it has a particularly strong visual relationship.

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 Gonalston, designed in 1935, 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