K8 Telephone Kiosk At Worcester Shrub Hill Railway Station

K8 Telephone Kiosk at Worcester Shrub Hill Railway Station

A telephone kiosk built from six cast iron parts and an aluminium door. The door and two sides contain large rectangular sheets of toughened glass set in frames with rounded corners. The fourth side is a back panel of cast iron. The kiosk has a square plan with a flat roof dome glazed with toughened glass on four sides, with round-cornered rectangular panes bearing the word "TELEPHONE" on a white background. The kiosk is painted red and was intact as of 2009.

The kiosk stands on the westbound platform of Worcester Shrub Hill railway station, immediately next to the Grade II listed station building. A Grade II* waiting room stands on the opposite platform, approximately 70 metres to the south-east. The telephone kiosk has a strong visual relationship with these two listed buildings, particularly the station building.

The K8 was designed by Bruce Martin following a competition held by the General Post Office in 1965. Bruce Martin studied engineering at the University of Hong Kong before qualifying in architecture at the Architectural Association. He joined the Hertfordshire County Council architectural department and was jointly responsible for the "Hertfordshire experiment", a progressive building scheme for primary schools. Morgan's Junior School in Hertford, designed by Martin, is Grade II* listed.

In response to the General Post Office's brief for an easily re-assembled kiosk, the new design was given interchangeable components, unlike its predecessor, Giles Gilbert Scott's iconic K6. Another requirement was that it would be easy to maintain over a lifespan of at least 50 years, achieved through the use of cast iron and toughened glass. The new kiosk was intended to represent the next generation of red telephone boxes. Bruce Martin's K8 offered an unfussy contemporary approach with clean lines and curves that eschewed the explicit neo-classical references of Scott's designs. While the K8 took a fresh approach, its dimensions and appearance were respectful of its lineage. The K8 was manufactured by the Lion Foundry and first installed in July 1968. Eleven thousand were introduced onto the United Kingdom's streets by 1984, after which the majority were replaced by the KX100.