K6 telephone kiosk, Kirkby Malham, Kirkby Malham, North Yorkshire

Entry Name: K6 telephone kiosk, Kirkby Malham

Listing Date: 1 November 2017

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1448661

ID on this website: 101448661

Location: Kirkby Malham, North Yorkshire, BD23

County: North Yorkshire

District: Craven

Civil Parish: Kirkby Malham

Traditional County: Yorkshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): North Yorkshire

Tagged with: Telephone booth

Summary

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. The telephone kiosk is in good, near original condition, but with modernised internal equipment.

The telephone kiosk is sited at the centre of the small village of Kirkby Malham, on the east side of the narrow Main Street. It is directly overlooked by the fronts of two listed domestic properties which flank the road immediately to the north of the telephone kiosk: the C17 Rose Cottage and the C18 Lambert’s Halt.

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 significant English architects of the C20; his many celebrated commissions include the Anglican cathedral of Liverpool and Battersea power station. The K2 and K6 telephone kiosk 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 of English streetscapes.

Reasons for Listing

The K6 telephone kiosk on Main Street, Kirkby Malham is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* As an iconic example of industrial design, showing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's adaptation of Neo-classical forms for a modern technological function.

Group value:

* For its strong visual relationship with the two adjacent listed buildings immediately to the north.

External Links

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.