K6 Telephone Kiosk

1163/0/10019

KIRKLINGTON CHURCH LANE K6 Telephone Kiosk

01-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. The kiosk is not in good condition (2009), having lost most of its red paint and now appearing a faded pink colour. Its display signs above the doors are however in good condition.

The kiosk stands at the eastern end of the village and is situated adjacent to the grounds of the Grade I listed St Swithin's Church, with which it has a strong visual relationship. When viewed from the south or the churchyard, the kiosk also has a visual relationship with the Old School (Grade II) that stands approximately 40m to its north east.

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 Kirklington, Nottinghamshire, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It has a strong visual relationship with a neighbouring Grade I church * It also has a visual relationship with another Grade II listed building to its north east * It is a representative example within a village setting of this important C20 industrial design

SK6797457583