Two K6 Telephone Kiosks Outside Former Post Office

GRAVESEND

742/0/10016 THE GROVE 05-MAR-10 Two K6 Telephone Kiosks outside Former Post Office

GV II Pair of K6 telephone kiosks

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 good condition, situated within the immediate vicinity of the Grade II listed former post office. Although the kiosks stand before the less architecturally interesting, mid C20, extension to the building, they nevertheless form part of a significant view as one looks north along The Grove. The view is framed by the 146 Milton Road and the former post office (both listed Grade II) and is terminated by the Grade II listed clock tower and the Grade II listed Berkley Crescent.

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.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION The pair of K6 telephone kiosks on The Grove, Gravesend, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Setting: the telephone kiosks have are within the immediate vicinity of the Grade II listed former post office. * Setting: the telephone kiosks form part of a characterful view along The Grove, which includes a number of listed buildings.