K6 Telephone Kiosk

BATCOMBE

1594/0/10011 WESTCOMBE HILL 29-OCT-10 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. The kiosk is intact and appears to be in good condition (2009).

The kiosk is situated at the centre of the hamlet, adjacent to an unlisted war memorial. On the opposite side of the road, approximately 10m to the west, stands a drinking trough incorporating an ornamental grotto (Grade II). 30m to the north west of the kiosk stands Laburnam Cottage and the attached cottage to the east (Grade II). This selection of listed buildings and street furniture forms a collective visual grouping at the centre of the village, of which the kiosk forms an integral part.

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 Westcombe, Somerset, 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 * It has a contextual relationship with the other street furniture to which it stands in close proximity