Summary

A K6 telephone kiosk, from a design of 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.

Description

A K6 telephone kiosk, from a design of 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.

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. The kiosk survives well, but no longer has any telephone equipment. It retains the majority of its glass windows.

The kiosk stands immediately to the west of the village stores and post office, facing north-west to the Sparsholt War Memorial (Grade II). Also across the road and further to the west, is the Church of St Stephen (Grade II*).

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 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 in Sparsholt, Hampshire is listed at Grade II for the following principal reason:
* Design interest: it is an iconic example of industrial design, showing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's adaptation of Neo-classical forms for a modern technological function;
* Group value: it has a strong visual relationship with at two other listed buildings in close proximity.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478781

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

• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)