TELEPHONE KIOSK

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A mid-20thC telephone kiosk of K6 (Kiosk number 6) design opposite a former Boat House on the public road along the S end of Church Bay.

The kiosk is of cast-iron construction with a curved roof and entrance door on its N elevation. It is painted in distinctive GPO red and sits on a black cast-iron pedestal. Except for its blank S side, all its elevations have margined 1x8-paned windows. Its domed top is carried on four moulded corner posts and bears a Tudor Crown insignia in bas-relief around each of its four sides. Below each of these insignia is displayed 'Telephone' in black serif capital letters on a white glazed rectangular panel.

Setting:
The kiosk is set in a rubble limestone wall at the bottom of the garden of the middle two-storey house in a terrace of refurbished 19th C Coastguard houses. It sits on the verge of the E-W running public road. Directly opposite is a refurbished former boat house (HB05/16/004).

Historical information

This telephone kiosk is of K6 (Kiosk number 6) pattern which was designed for the General Post Office in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) to mark the silver jubilee of King George V. It was based on his earlier (but larger and more costly) K2 design of 1926. The top of the K2 and K6 kiosks bear a striking resemblance to the roof of a mausoleum in St Pancras Old Church Gardens, London which was designed by Sir John Soane in 1815 as his family tomb (Scott was a Trustee of the Sir John Soane Museum).
Scott was also responsible for Liverpool Cathedral (1924) and was to go on design Battersea Power Station (1933) and Bankside Power Station (1935; now Tate Modern) amongst others

The K6 was introduced throughout the UK in 1936 and remained in production until the mid-1960s. In total c.60,000 K6s were installed during this period. Like the GPO's pillar boxes, they were painted red to make them visually prominent from afar. They were manufactured by the Lion Foundry, Kirkintilloch and the Carron Ironworks, Falkirk. This kiosk may bear its maker's name at the base of its blank side, but this is not accessible.

The Tudor Crown around the top of the kiosk is also known as the King's Crown or Imperial Crown and was used from 1902 to 1953 to symbolise the Government (which also owned the GPO). With the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, it was replaced by St Edward's Crown (which has depressed arches around its top).

This kiosk is obviously not on the 1922 OS map. Indeed, since 1930 (if not earlier), the only communication with the island was by means of a Morse code wireless link between Ballycastle and Church Bay. It was not until 1956 or 1957 that this telephone kiosk was installed along with several handsets for key community workers (eg priest and nurse). The kiosk is captioned 'T.C.B.' (telephone call box) on the 1971 OS map. It was originally located in the garden of what was then the island's post office. It was moved c.10m east to its present position in the 1970s.

References - Primary sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/1/1/4. Fourth edition OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 1 (1922).
2. GPO/7/1/4-23. Provision of Ballycastle - Rathlin Island radio service, 1930-1949.
3. PRONI OS/11/3/8/1. OS 1:2500 map, Irish Grid sheet 03-08 (1971).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
Z. Rarity
R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
V. Authorship

Evaluation

This telephone kiosk is of standard K6 ('Kiosk number 6') design and is proportioned to accommodate a single standing user at a time. Although steel would have been in common use when it was manufactured, cast-iron was used in preference owing to its longevity and ease of maintenance.

Apart from the handset, this kiosk is unaltered in all respects and is as designed by the prominent architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Prior to the inception of mobile phones, it would have been of inestimable social value to the inhabitants of the island and of local significance in that respect.