Pair Of K6 Telephone Kiosks

856/0/10020 STOUR STREET 01-OCT-10 Pair of K6 telephone kiosks

GV II Pair of K6 telephone kiosks

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. These kiosks have modernised internal equipment. The kiosks are in reasonable condition, the display signs above the doors are faded and discoloured, however they retain their glass windows.

The kiosks are situated adjacent to the flank elevation of the Head Post Office (listed Grade II), and opposite the flank elevation of the County Hotel (listed Grade II), and form part of an atmospheric vista down Stour Street, framed by the front elevations of the Post Office and County Hotel.

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.

The pair of K6 telephone kiosks in Stour Street, Canterbury, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * The telephone kiosks have a strong visual relationship with the adjacent listed buildings.

TR1478957869