Telephone Kiosk, 1 Tirkelly Hill Road, Ballyroney, Banbridge, County Down, BT32 5EW

Telephone Kiosk, Tirkelly Hill Road, Ballyroney

This is a red telephone kiosk of type "K6", designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and installed between 1935 and 1953. It stands adjacent to the former Post Office at Ballyroney, forming a noteworthy architectural group with that building and its associated house.

The kiosk is constructed of cast iron painted red. Each elevation is embossed with the symbolic Tudor Crown motif over a sign displaying "TELEPHONE". The glazing has been largely replaced, and the front glazed door is now missing. The rear elevation is blank. The interior has been replaced with modern telephone equipment. Despite these losses, the essential character and architectural interest of the structure survive.

The K6 design is one of the most iconic British telephone box designs, created by the renowned architect Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960), who is also famous for designing Liverpool Cathedral, Battersea Power Station, and the Bankside Power Station (now Tate Modern) in London. The first K6 kiosks were commissioned in 1935 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V. The distinctive roof design was based upon the roof of Sir John Soane's Mausoleum in St. Pancras Old Church, London.

The Tudor Crown embossed above the entrance confirms this to be an original K6 from the initial production run, rather than the modified design introduced in the mid-1950s following the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The kiosk does not appear on historic Ordnance Survey maps or valuation records, consistent with its installation date between 1935 and circa 1953, and certainly before 1956 when production of this model ceased.

This telephone kiosk is one of few surviving examples of this iconic international design, now increasingly rare. The structure was listed in 1990 and was selected in 1997 by Royal Mail for inclusion in a commemorative set of four postage stamps depicting historic post offices from each region of the United Kingdom; Ballyroney appeared on the 63 pence stamp for Northern Ireland. The kiosk continues to function.