K6 Telephone Kiosk

1889/0/10005

COFFINSWELL Opposite Wayside Cottage K6 Telephone Kiosk

24-APR-09

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. The kiosk is in good condition (2009).

The kiosk is located in a hedgerow at the side of the main road through the village. It stands between two listed buildings: Wayside Cottage (Grade II) approximately 10m to the south east and Thorn and Appledore Cottages (Grade II) approximately 10m to the north west. The kiosk has a strong visual relationship with these two listed 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 Coffinswell, Devon, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It stands between two Grade II listed buildings * It is a representative example within a village setting of this important C20 industrial design

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