K6 Telephone Kiosk Immediately West Of The Old Post Office

STRATFIELD SAYE

289/0/10088 NEW STREET 26-JUL-10 K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK IMMEDIATELY WEST OF THE OLD POST OFFICE

II

K6 telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and made by various contractors.

MATERIALS: Cast iron and glass.

PLAN: Square in plan.

EXTERIOR: 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. In a survey by British Telecom in 2008 this telephone kiosk was found to have sustained slight damage, but it also was found to have retained all its original glass windows.

INTERIOR: The interior contains modern telecommunications 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 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 on New Street in Stratfield Saye is designated at Grade II for the principal following reasons: * It is an iconic example of industrial design, showing St Giles Gilbert Scott's adaptation of Neoclassical forms for a modern technological function * It has group value with the listed Stratfield Saye Infant School (Grade II) and the School and School House (Grade II) * It is intact and is situated in a Conservation Area