K6 Telephone Box, Waresley, Beds

Summary

K6 telephone kiosk, 1935.

Reasons for Designation

The K6 telephone kiosk, Waresley, designed in 1935, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Design: it is an iconic C20 industrial design by Giles Gilbert Scott;
* Historic interest: on account of its historic association with the Grade II listed Jubilee Lamp standard;
* Group Value: it has a strong visual relationship with seven listed buildings and structures.

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. Around 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 K6 telephone kiosk at Waresley is a replacement on the location of the original. It has an historical and visual connection with the listed Jubilee lamp standard (Grade II, NHLE1211761), which occupies a prominent position in the village square in front of the Duncombe Arms (Grade II). Both structures celebrate the silver jubilee of King George V. The lamp standard was originally erected in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, but in 1935 a new inscription was added to mark its conversion to electricity in commemoration of the silver jubilee of King George and Queen Mary, the occasion for which the K6 box was designed.

Details

The K6 is a standardised design by Giles Gilbert Scott 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. The paint work and signage appear to be in good condition.

It stands at a village crossroads, immediately adjacent to the Grade II listed Duncombe Arms Public House (NHLE 1211669) and in direct view of other Grade II listed buildings: Lamp Standard (NHLE1211761) approximately 19m to the south-west; a Milestone (NHLE1211595) 40m west; the Village Pump and Drinking Fountain (NHLE1211593) on the opposite side of the crossroads, approximately 32m to the south-west; 1-3 Gamlingay Road (NHLE1211645) 28m to the south and Garden Wall (NHLE1211678) approximately 35m to the south- east. It is also in view of the Grade II* St James Church (NHLE1289920) approximately 47m to the south-west. The telephone kiosk has a strong visual relationship with all seven listed buildings.

Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the modern telecommunications equipment within the K6 is not of special architectural or historic interest.

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