K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK

K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK, BANBURY ROAD

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

Overview

Telephone kiosk of K6 type, designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and made by various contractors. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1393184
Date first listed:: 04-Mar-2009
List Entry Name:: K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK
Statutory Address:: K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK, BANBURY ROAD

4th March 2020 ©Paul Bottomley : thek6project.co.uk — Uploaded by thek6project.co.uk This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1393184
Date first listed:: 04-Mar-2009
List Entry Name:: K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK
Statutory Address 1:: K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK, BANBURY ROAD

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

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

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, BANBURY ROAD

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

District:: West Northamptonshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Litchborough
National Grid Reference:: SP 63335 54315

Reasons for Designation

The K6 telephone kiosk in Litchborough 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 three listed buildings: St Martin's Church (grade II*), Litchborough Farmhouse and attached wall (grade II), and the Old Red Lion Public House (grade II).

Details

LITCHBOROUGH

1735/0/10011 BANBURY ROAD 04-MAR-09 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.

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. It is not in good condition currently (2009), the red paint is flaking in places and there is a substantial amount of rust. It is unaltered and retains its original configuration.

The kiosk stands on a wide grass verge in the heart of the Conservation Area, adjacent to the high ironstone wall of the Old Rectory. The kiosk has a strong visual relationship with three listed buildings: the grade II* listed church of St Martin (medieval), the grade II listed Litchborough Farmhouse and attached wall (mid C18), and the grade II listed Old Red Lion Public House (late C17). The church tower, farmhouse, pub and kiosk form a single visual composition when seen from the east.

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 DESIGNATION: The K6 telephone kiosk in Litchborough, situated in a Conservation Area, is designated at grade II, for the following principal reasons: * It kiosk has a strong visual relationship with three listed buildings: St Martin's Church (grade II*), Litchborough Farmhouse and attached wall (grade II), and the Old Red Lion Public House (grade II). * It is an iconic example of industrial design, showing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's adaptation of Neoclassical forms for a modern technological function SP6333554315

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:: 506168
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.