Description

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798-1/0/10379

EUSTON ROAD
K6 telephone kiosk outside St Pancras Station

22-FEB-10

GV
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.

This kiosk is located at the south-west corner of the forecourt of the Grade I listed St Pancras Station on the north side of Euston Road. It stands opposite Camden Town Hall (Grade II).

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 Listing

The K6 telephone kiosk on Euston Road, outside St Pancras Station is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Design Interest: Giles Gilbert Scott's design has special interest for its artistry and functionality as well its iconic status as a milestone of C20 industrial design;
* Setting: a strong visual relationship to two listed buildings including St Pancras Station at Grade I;
* Historic Interest: juxtaposition of the K6 and St Pancras Station, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, grandfather of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, designer of the K6.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27087267

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

• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  For the Record