Two K6 telephone boxes in front of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1415677
- Date first listed:
- 15-Aug-2013
- List Entry Name:
- Two K6 telephone boxes in front of the Victoria and Albert Museum
- Statutory Address:
- Cromwell Road, London
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1415677
- Date first listed:
- 15-Aug-2013
- List Entry Name:
- Two K6 telephone boxes in front of the Victoria and Albert Museum
- Location Description:
- Two kiosks, one on either side of the principal entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
- Statutory Address 1:
- Cromwell Road, London
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.
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.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Cromwell Road, London
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Kensington and Chelsea (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ2697479033
Summary
Two K6 telephone kiosks, designed 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.
Reasons for Designation
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The two K6 telephone kiosks in front of the Victoria and Albert Museum are recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Setting: these kiosks have a strong relationship with the Victoria and Albert Museum, and also relate visually to the houses of Thurloe Square and the other listed buildings of Thurloe Place and Cromwell Road.
History
The K6 telephone kiosk is a milestone of C20 industrial design. First commissioned in 1935 to mark the occasion of King George V’s silver jubilee, it was an adaptation by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott of his highly successful K2 kiosk of 1924, a neoclassical design inspired in turn by the work of Sir John Soane in the early 1800s. The K6 was visually more streamlined, more compact and more cost-effective to mass produce. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) was one of the most important British architects of the first half of the C20; his many celebrated commissions include the Anglican cathedral of Liverpool and Battersea power station. The K2 and K6 telephone kiosks represent a very thoughtful adaptation of architectural tradition to contemporary technological requirements. The K6 remained in production until the 1960s, by which time well over 70,000 had been produced. From 1968 many were replaced with a new kiosk type, the K8, but large numbers still survive as iconic features of Britain's streetscapes.
Details
The K6 is a standardised design, a rectangular cast-iron box, eight feet in height and three feet square on plan, with a shallow domed roof. The glazed door and side panels are divided by glazing bars into eight narrow horizontal strips with narrow side lights, surrounded by a thin moulding. The back panel also has this moulding but is unglazed. The upper section has white illuminated signage panels on all four sides, inscribed ‘TELEPHONE’. Above each of these is a crown emblem, embossed and not perforated as in the earlier K2 kiosk. The telephone equipment inside is modern.
These two kiosks stand on either side of the main entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum (Grade I), with the houses of Thurloe Square (Grade II) across the street to the south.
Sources
Books and journals
Stamp, G, Telephone Boxes, (1989)
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 21-Jun-2026 at 06:15:52.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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