Two K6 Telephone Kiosks Outside The Old Town Hall

GRAVESEND

742/0/10017 HIGH STREET 05-MAR-10 Two K6 telephone kiosks outside the ol d Town Hall

GV II Two 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 Old Town Hall. One is located to the far right of the front elevation, acting as a focal point terminating the view east along Jury Street, and the other is located under the portico of the Old Town Hall.

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 K6 telephone kiosks in front of the Old Town Hall, Gravesend, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Setting: the kiosks have strong group value with the Old Town Hall and numbers 55-59 High Street.