K6 telephone kiosk adjacent to the Seagate Hotel

Summary

K6 Telephone Kiosk, designed in 1935 by Giles Gilbert Scott.

Reasons for Designation

The K6 telephone kiosk adjacent to the Seagate Hotel, The Quay, Appledore is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

*Architectural interest: an iconic example of industrial design, showing Giles Gilbert Scott's adaptation of Neoclassical forms for a modern technological function;

*Group value: it has a strong visual relationship with more than one listed building, including No. 1 Meeting House and the Seagate Hotel (all listed Grade II) and together with the war memorial on Churchfield (Grade II) it forms a group of structures which make a positive contribution to Appledore’s historic street scene.

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 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. 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 on Britain's streetscapes.

Details

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. Three of the display signs above the doors of this K6 survive; the fourth has been replaced with a sign reading ‘e-mail* text* phone’. It retains its glass windows. It has modernised internal equipment. The kiosk stands on The Quay, opposite the harbourside and overlooking the River Torridge. It stands next to The Seagate Hotel (listed Grade II), circa 28m north of No. 1 Meeting Street (listed, Grade II), and has a strong visual relationship with both of these listed buildings. It also stands circa 62m east of the war memorial on Churchfield (Grade II).

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

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