K6 Telephone Kiosk

984/0/10028 27-OCT-10

WANBOROUGH HIGH STREET 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 the 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 situated at the side of the main road through the northern part of the village, directly in front of an unlisted building. Yew Tree Cottage (Grade II) stands approximately 25m to the east, whilst the Harrow Inn, also Grade II, stands 25m to the north, both on the opposite side of the road. The kiosk enjoys a strong visual relationship with these two buildings collectively.

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 The K6 telephone kiosk in Lower Wanborough, Wiltshire, is recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architectural and historic interest: an iconic example of industrial design showing Giles Gilbert Scott's adaptation of Neoclassical forms for a modern technological function. * Group value: a good example of the type, having proximity and good visual relationship with two listed buildings.