Telephone Kiosk, Opposite The Boat House, Rathlin Island, Co Antrim

Telephone Kiosk, Rathlin Island

This mid-20th century telephone kiosk is of the K6 (Kiosk number 6) design, installed on Rathlin Island between 1956 and 1957. It sits opposite a former boat house on the public road at the southern end of Church Bay, set within a rubble limestone wall at the bottom of the garden of one of a terrace of refurbished 19th century Coastguard houses.

The kiosk is of cast-iron construction, painted in distinctive General Post Office red, and stands on a black cast-iron pedestal. It has a curved roof and an entrance door on its north elevation. Except for its blank south side, all elevations display margined 1 by 8-paned windows. The domed top is carried on four moulded corner posts and bears a Tudor Crown (also known as the King's Crown or Imperial Crown) in bas-relief around each of its four sides. Below each insignia is displayed "Telephone" in black serif capital letters on a white glazed rectangular panel.

The K6 design was created for the General Post Office in 1935 by the prominent architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V. It was based on his larger and more costly K2 design of 1926. The distinctive roof form of both designs draws inspiration from a mausoleum in St Pancras Old Church Gardens, London, designed by Sir John Soane in 1815 as his family tomb. The K6 was introduced throughout the United Kingdom in 1936 and remained in production until the mid-1960s, with approximately 60,000 installed during this period. The kiosks were manufactured by the Lion Foundry, Kirkintilloch and the Carron Ironworks, Falkirk.

Prior to the arrival of the telephone kiosk, communication with Rathlin Island since 1930 had been by means of a Morse code wireless link between Ballycastle and Church Bay. The kiosk was installed along with several handsets for key community workers including the priest and nurse. It was originally positioned in the garden of what was then the island's post office and was relocated approximately 10 metres east to its present position in the 1970s.

The Tudor Crown on the kiosk dates its manufacture to between 1902 and 1953, when this symbol was used to represent the Government ownership of the General Post Office. Following the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, this was replaced by St Edward's Crown.

Except for the handset, the kiosk remains unaltered and as designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. It is of considerable local historical and social significance to the island community, and prior to the advent of mobile phones was of inestimable value to its inhabitants.