K6 Telephone Kiosk

BRAMPFORD SPEKE

290/0/10001 K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK 02-DEC-09

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. It appears to be intact and in good condition (2009).

This telephone kiosk is situated at the side of the road in the northern part of the village. Across a small street directly to the south of the kiosk stands Bootham House (Grade II), and approximately 25m to the east stands Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School (Grade II). The kiosk stands at the centre of a diagonal line between the two and forms a close visual grouping with them.

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 10,000 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 Brampford Speke, Devon, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It has a strong visual relationship with two listed buildings * It is a representative example within a village setting of this important C20 industrial design