K6 Telephone Kiosk on Price Street at the corner with Argyle Street, adjacent to Hamilton Square

Summary

Telephone kiosk, Type K6. Designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Made by various contractors.

Reasons for Designation

The K6 telephone kiosk at the junction of Price Street and Argyle Street, adjacent to Hamilton Square, Birkenhead, 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 neoclassical forms for a modern technological function.

Historic interest:

* the K6 telephone kiosk was designed to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935 by the eminent architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, further developing his successful K2 telephone kiosk design of 1924.

Group value:

* for its contribution to the streetscape and proximity and visual relationship with the important civic space of Hamilton Square, enclosed by Grade I Victorian terraces and the Grade II* Town Hall, with central gardens containing listed statues and a Grade II* war memorial.

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 renowned English architects of the C20; 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. But many remain and continue to be an iconic feature of English streetscapes.

This K6 telephone kiosk is one of a pair of telephone kiosks originally positioned at an angle at the corner of Hamilton Street with Duncan Street, facing into Hamilton Square. The square is a civic space of outstanding architectural interest, enclosed by grand, Grade I, Victorian terraces of 1839 to 1844, designed by the Scottish architect, James Gillespie Graham (1776-1855), famous for his work in Edinburgh New Town, and an 1883, Grade II* Town Hall. The central gardens contain a Grade II* war memorial, a monument to Queen Victoria and a statue of John Laird, both Grade II. The telephone kiosks were both listed at Grade II in 1987. In 2018 they were relocated separately whilst retaining their visual relationship with Hamilton Square. This telephone kiosk was moved to the west corner of the square, at the junction of Price Street and Argyle Street; the other one was moved a short distance from its pre-existing location at the junction of Hamilton Street and Duncan Street.

Details

Telephone kiosk, Type K6. Designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Made by various contractors.

MATERIALS: cast-iron, glass.

DESCRIPTION:
The K6 is a standardised design of cast-iron painted red comprising a square kiosk with a shallow domed roof. The door and sides each have eight horizontal strips of glass with narrow margin lights. Above, in the top panels, are rectangular white display signs reading TELEPHONE with applied relief crowns over. The telephone kiosk is complete, but with modernised internal equipment.

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