Description

1414/0/10009

MERSHAM
THE STREET
K6 Telephone Kiosk

16-APR-09

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 not in good condition (2009): it is missing three windows and one white display sign. It retains the remainder of its glass windows but these are badly faded.

The kiosk stands on a small green adjacent to Chestnut Villas, a row of listed houses that stand approximately 8m south. On the opposite side of the street, approximately 20m north west, stands the Grade II listed Royal Oak Public House. On the north side of this pub is situated 15 The Street (Grade II), which also has a visual relationship with the kiosk owing to the latter's prominent location on the village green. This kiosk therefore has a close visual relationship with three listed buildings.

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 10,000 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 Mersham, Kent, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It has a strong visual relationship with three listed buildings
* It is a representative example within a village setting of this important C20 industrial design

TR0527839801

Reasons for Listing

The K6 telephone kiosk in Mersham, Kent, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It has a strong visual relationship with three listed buildings
* It is a representative example within a village setting of this important C20 industrial design

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672469

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

• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)