K6 Telephone Kiosk

1743/0/10064 15-JUL-10

ASHTON ASHTON GREEN K6 Telephone Kiosk

GV 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. This kiosk is in a generally fair state of repair and retains all its glass panes.

The kiosk is located on the north side of the Green at the entrance to Ashton Village. There are at least ten listed buildings surrounding the village green, seven of which have a direct visual relationship with the kiosk.

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 a new kiosk type. But many still remain, and continue to be an iconic feature on Britain's streetscapes.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION The K6 telephone kiosk on the village green at Ashton, Northamptonshire is designated at Grade II for the following principal reason. * It has a strong visual relationship with seven other nearby listed buildings.