K6 Telephone Kiosk

K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK, HIGH STREET

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Explore this list entry

Overview

Telephone kiosk of K6 type, designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and made by various contractors.
Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1392657
Date first listed:
22-Jul-2008
List Entry Name:
K6 Telephone Kiosk
Statutory Address:
K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK, HIGH STREET
16th Feb 2022 ©Paul Bottomley : thek6project.co.uk
Contributed by thek6project.co.uk This photo may not represent the current condition of the site. Over 400,000 images and stories have been added to the Missing Pieces Project so far. Share your story.
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places. 

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

Icon Buildings
Icon Scheduled monuments
Icon Parks and gardens
Icon Battlefields
Icon Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Local Heritage Hub

Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.

Discover more

Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1392657
Date first listed:
22-Jul-2008
List Entry Name:
K6 Telephone Kiosk
Statutory Address 1:
K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK, HIGH STREET

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK, HIGH STREET

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:
Bedford (Unitary Authority)
Parish:
Melchbourne and Yielden
National Grid Reference:
TL 01210 66813

Reasons for Designation

The K6 telephone kiosk on the High Street in Yelden has been designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * It is an iconic example of industrial design, showing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's adaptation of Neoclassical forms for a modern technological function * It has group value with two listed buildings in the immediate vicinity and is in a heritage location

Details

MELCHBOURNE AND YIELDEN

50/0/10005 HIGH STREET 22-JUL-08 Yelden (West side) K6 Telephone Kiosk

GV II Telephone kiosk of K6 type, designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and made by various contractors.

MATERIALS: Cast iron.

PLAN: Square in plan with domical roof.

EXTERIOR: Painted red. There are relief crowns in the segmental upper sections on each side, above glazed panels bearing the word 'TELEPHONE'. The door and two sides are glazed, each having eight horizontal strips of glass with narrow margin lights.

HISTORY: The first standardised telephone kiosks, known as the K1, were designed in 1921. In 1924 the Postmaster General held a competition to find a better design. The product was the K2, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, architect of Battersea Power Station and Liverpool Cathedral. His Neoclassical design, influenced by the work of the Regency architect Sir John Soane, consisted of a cast iron cubicle with a domical roof. A perforated crown (symbol of the General Post Office) was set within the upper panels on each side. Subsequent versions were variations on this theme. The most common survivor is the K6, designed by Scott in 1935 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V. This version was smaller than the K2 and generally painted red, with the crowns applied in relief rather than perforated. It had eight strips of glass with narrow margin lights on each side, whereas the K2 had 6 x 3 panes on each side.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The K6 telephone kiosk on the High Street in Yelden is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * It is an iconic example of industrial design, showing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's adaptation of Neoclassical forms for a modern technological function * It has group value with two listed buildings in the immediate vicinity and is in a heritage location

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
504833
Legacy System:
LBS

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of K6 Telephone Kiosk

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 10-Jun-2026 at 17:30:44.

Download a full scale map (PDF)
© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Previous Overview
Next Comments and Photos