K6 Telephone Kiosk

1414/0/10008

BRABOURNE THE STREET K6 telephone kiosk

17-APR-09

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. It retains all bar one of its glass windows and has had its door replaced (2009).

This kiosk stands on a triangular green where three roads convene at the centre of this village. Approximately 30m to the north east stand 1 and 2 Egerton Cottages (Grade II), whilst the Five Bells PH (Grade II) is situated approximately 15m to the south, and the Applegarth (the former Post Office - Grade II) stands adjacent to this. The prominent position of this kiosk means that it has a strong visual relationship with these four listed buildings when viewed from multiple directions.

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 Brabourne, Kent, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It has a strong visual relationship with four listed buildings * It is a representative example within a village setting of this important C20 industrial design

TR1001741963