K6 telephone kiosk, Austwick

Summary

K6 telephone kiosk.

Reasons for Designation

The K6 telephone kiosk on The Green, Austwick is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

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

Group value:
* For its strong contribution to the streetscape in combination with four listed buildings when viewed from all three approach roads to The Green, the triangular junction that forms the heart of the village.

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 significant English architects of the C20; his many celebrated commissions include the Anglican cathedral of Liverpool and Battersea power station. The K2 and K6 telephone kiosk 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 a new kiosk type. But many still remain, and continue to be an iconic feature of English 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. The Austwick telephone kiosk is complete, but with modernised internal equipment.

The telephone kiosk is sited at the triangular green and road junction forming the centre of the small village of Austwick. It is on the north side of the western exit from The Green, directly across the road from the Grade II-listed Church of the Epiphany and overlooked by the Grade II-listed Market Cross sited at the middle of The Green. The current post office lies just over 40m to the east, sited on the northern exit from The Green. This building is unlisted, however the original post office, which occupied the Grade II-listed Ivy Cottage is a further 20m distant, within sight of the telephone kiosk. Also within sight of the telephone kiosk is the Grade II-listed Sunny Bank, a house on the south eastern entrance to The Green. The telephone kiosk makes a strong contribution to the streetscape in relation to all of these listed buildings from all three approach roads to The Green, the triangular junction forming the heart of the village.

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