Summary

A 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* and retains it glass windows.

The K6 telephone kiosk in Bury stands in a prominent position on an unnamed road at the centre of the hamlet. The kiosk stands in close proximity to three listed buildings: Chapel Cottage (Grade II) approximately 20m to the NW; Nos 9 & 10 Bury (Grade II) approximately 30m to the N and No 19 Bury (Grade II) approximately 50m to the SE. The telephone kiosk has a strong visual relationship with these three listed buildings collectively.

* Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest.

History

The K6 telephone kiosk is a milestone of C20 industrial design. The K6 was designed by Sir 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. Sir 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 Listing

The K6 telephone kiosk in Bury is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural interest: the K6 kiosk is recognised as an iconic milestone of C20 design;
* Degree of survival: the kiosk survives intact;
* Group value: The kiosk has a strong visual relationship with three listed buildings.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478434

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)