K6 Telephone Kiosk, Junction of High Street and School Lane, Wargrave

Summary

K6 telephone kiosk, erected to standardised designs by Giles Gilbert Scott of 1935.

Reasons for Designation

The K6 telephone kiosk on School Lane (around 20m to the east of the junction with the High Street) in Wargrave is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as an iconic design by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, one of the leading British architects of the period;

Group value:

* for its strong visual relationship with the Grade II-listed Wargrave House to the west (List entry 11118181) and the wall to Ousleys running to the south (List entry 1303550). The kiosk additionally has a contextual relationship with The Bull public house (Grade II; List entry 1303693), at the junction with the High Street (around 20m to the west).

History

The K6 telephone kiosk is a milestone of C20 industrial design. It 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. The K6 kiosk in Wargrave bears the King’s crown insignia, dating it to before 1952.

Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) was one of the most important British architects of the C20; his many celebrated buildings include the Anglican cathedral of Liverpool (listed Grade I; List entry 1361681) and Battersea power station (Grade II*; List entry 1357620). 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 K6 kiosks 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 telephone kiosk on School Lane, adjacent to the junction with High Street in Wargrave, is a standardised K6 design. It is made of cast iron, painted red with horizontal bands for glazing in the door and sides. The crowns to the top panels are applied, not perforated. There are rectangular white ‘TELEPHONE’ display signs beneath the shallow-curved roof. The kiosk retains its door, signage and applied crowns, though much of the glazing to the north and south sides has been broken (at the time of assessment in 2022). The internal equipment has been modernised.

The kiosk faces to the west, positioned on the south side of School Lane. It is approximately 20m from the junction with the High Street (to the west). Clustered around the junction are several Grade II-listed buildings: adjacent to the west is Wargrave House (List entry 11118181), running to the south of the kiosk is a wall between Wargrave House and Ousleys (List entry 1303550), and on the western side of the High Street junction is The Bull public house (List entry 1303693).

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