Summary

K6 telephone kiosk, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935.

Description

K6 telephone kiosk, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935.
MATERIALS: cast iron
DETAILS: The K6 is a standardised design, 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. The example under consideration is in a good state of intactness; the display signs above the door are still clear, and the kiosk retains its glass windows.

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.

The telephone kiosk under consideration in Bovey Tracey stands in Town Hall Place, immediately to the west of the town hall; the war memorial is also to the west of the town hall.

Reasons for Listing

The K6 telephone kiosk in Town Hall Place, Bovey Tracey is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: it is a representative and intact example of its type;
* Design: designed for mass production and a technological function, Giles Gilbert Scott’s neoclassical form has achieved an iconic design status;
* Group value: it has a strong visual relationship with Bovey Tracey town hall, the war memorial, and the Bell Inn, as well as other listed buildings.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677204

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

• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)