K6 Telephone Kiosk

THROWLEY

1446/0/10012 THE GREEN 08-JUL-09 K6 telephone kiosk

II K6 telephone kiosk

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. It has modernised internal equipment. The kiosk is in reasonable condition, the display signs above the doors are faded and discoloured, however it retains its glass windows.

The kiosk stands on the eastern edge of the village green, outside The Old Post Office (Grade II). The south side of the green is lined with a number of listed buildings, The Windmill Inn being the most easterly of these, standing c20m to the south of the kiosk. The kiosk has a strong visual relationship with both The Old Post Office and The Windmill Inn, and its positioning means that it is a prominent feature in a number of characterful vistas to, from and across the village green.

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 kiosk in Throwley Forstal, situated in a conservation area, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reason: * This telephone kiosk has a strong visual relationship with two listed buildings and contributes significantly to the historic character of its setting. TQ9888454269