K6 Telephone Kiosk

1591/0/10004 19-OCT-10

OFFWELL FIVE BELLS 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. There are some patches of rust on the roof and the display signs above the door are faded and discoloured.

The kiosk is situated at the centre of the village, adjacent to the grounds of St Mary's Church (Grade I). The church and kiosk stand 50m apart but have a strong visual relationship. Across the road from the kiosk, approximately 15m north, stand Offwell Village Pump and Boundary Walls (Grade II), Offwell School (Grade II) and Offwell Village Cross (Grade II). The kiosk therefore forms a group with these three listed buildings, as well as with the Grade I church to its south west.

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 Offwell, East Devon, is recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It has a strong visual relationship with four listed buildings * It stands adjacent to the grounds of a Grade I church