K6 Telephone Kiosk

IWERNE MINSTER

434/0/10004 16-APR-09

THE CHALK K6 Telephone Kiosk

GV II

K6 Telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and made by various contractors.

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.

It stands in a central position in the village of Iwerne Minster, within a Conservation Area. It has a strong visual relationship with a number of listed buildings including the Grade II listed Sunnyside and Brekan Cottage, and a line of sight to the former Baptist Chapel to the north, which is also listed at Grade II.

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 DECISION: This K6 telephone kiosk is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It is an iconic example of industrial design, showing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's adaptation of neoclassical forms for a modern technological function * It is a good example of the type, situated in the Iwerne Minster Conservation Area and with visual relationships to nearby Sunnyside (Grade II) and Brekan Cottage (Grade II)