Telephone Kiosk Tirkane Post Office, Slaghtneill Road, Maghera, BT46 5NJ

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A red telephone kiosk type 'K6' designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott; installed between 1936-1953.

Cast-iron body with timber door (complete with leather hinges and original opening mechanism) and blank rear, painted red. Some original glass remaining, although largely broken at the time of the survey Nov 2018, otherwise replacement perspex glazing. Each elevation displays the symbolic 'Tudor Crown' motif, three TELEPHONE signs, one missing.

Setting

Located at Tirkane Post Office, Slaghtneill Road, approximately 3 miles northwest of Maghera. The kiosk is located immediately adjacent and north of no. 4 Slaghtneill Road, at the centre of a small cluster of rural buildings, including two houses, the post office and a collection of agricultural sheds, all of which are located close to the roadside.

Historical information

This kiosk is a classic red telephone box, of the ‘K6’ variety, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V. The ‘K6’ model was built from 1936 until 1968, when it was replaced by a more modernist design. By this time over 73,000 kiosks had been located throughout the United Kingdom. Today there are less than 184 classic red phone boxes left in Northern Ireland.

The design changed very little between the years of 1936 to 1968. Each ‘K6’ style kiosk has a crown cast on the top of each face; the St Edward’s Crown replacing the Tudor Crown in 1953 following Queen Elizabeth coming to the throne in 1952. From 1955 to 1965 the crown was on a removable slotted tablet. This particular kiosk has the Tudor Crown and is likely a pre 1953 model.

References:

Jones, N R 'Architecture of England, Scotland and Wales' Greenwood Press, 2005
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (http://www.oxforddnb.com)
The Telephone Box (http://www.the-telephone-box.co.uk/)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A red telephone kiosk type 'K6' designed by Giles Gilbert Scott dating between 1936-1953. Less than 184 such kiosks are reportedly left in Northern Ireland, with very few still functioning as telephone boxes. An iconic international design. In a good rural setting. Modern equipment inside, not working at the time of the survey (Nov 2018). Although not currently in good condition, the rarity of these structures is considered such that this kiosk merits protection.