K6 Telephone Kiosk, High Street, Rayleigh

Summary

A K6 telephone kiosk on Rayleigh High Street, designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.

Reasons for Designation

The K6 telephone kiosk in High Street, Rayleigh, Essex, designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* it is in a good state of preservation;
* as an iconic example of C20 industrial design, showing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s adaptation of neoclassical forms for a modern technological function.

Group value:

* it has a strong geographic and visual relationship with listed buildings and listed street furniture close by, and is adjacent to a post box.

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 neoclassical 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. Well over 70,000 K6s were eventually produced. In the 1960s many were replaced with a new kiosk type. Many still remain, however, 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. The kiosk has retained its original glazing in the door and to one side but some panels have been replaced with perspex. It is now in use as a local council information point and no longer contains a telephone. The paintwork is faded.

This kiosk enjoys a prominent location within the historic centre of Rayleigh and is adjacent to a postbox set in a freestanding brick pillar (unlisted). It also forms part of a strong visual grouping with the Lloyds Bank and The Crown Public House (both listed at Grade II). Along with other historic listed structures in the near vicinity such as the Horse Trough and Drinking Fountain, Martyrs Memorial Obelisk and Town Pump (all three also listed at Grade II) the kiosk therefore forms an important feature of the streetscape.

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