K6 Telephone Kiosk

PAYHEMBURY

1348/0/10004 K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK 19-OCT-10

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. It is in good condition (2009).

The kiosk stands on a small patch of grass approximately 25m north west of three listed buildings: Lower House including rear garden walls (Grade II*) and its Stable Block and Granary (both Grade II). These three buildings provide the backdrop to the kiosk when viewed from the north and form a collective group with it. There is a strong visual relationship between the four buildings.

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 Payhembury, Devon, is recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It forms a strong visual grouping with three listed buildings, one of which is Grade II* * It is a representative example within a village setting of this important C20 industrial design