Telephone kiosk at 69 Knockanroe Road, Artea, Cookstown

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A ‘K6’ telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, dating from sometime after 1935 but before c.1953. The kiosk is located in the small hamlet of Adtrea (4.5km east of Cookstown), in the garden of 69 Knockanroe Road, a property that served as a post office for much of the 20th century.

The Kiosk has the usual cast-iron body painted red, with what appears to be original glazing [check.] Each elevation displays the ‘Tudor’ crown motif over a glazed ‘TELEPHONE’ panel. The door opens to the east and the south side is blank. The interior has a c.1990s metal (card operated) payphone with a shelf / bracket (for the hanging of directories etc.) next to it.

Historical information

This telephone kiosk can be dated to sometime between 1935 and c.1953, the period during which this particular version of the ‘K6’ type was in use (see below). The property within whose garden it is sited, served as the local post office from sometime after 1935 until at least 1975, with the kiosk shown on the OS map dating from the latter year (the earliest available post-1935 map for this particular area).

The K6 model was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V. Constructed in cast-iron with a teak door, compact in size and easily mass-produced, the design of the K6 was developed from Scott’s previous telephone kiosk models, the larger K2 (introduced in 1926) and K3 (1929). It was distributed throughout the UK from 1936 and represents the most successful and populous type of kiosk to be introduced with some 60,000 being placed around the country. About 8,000 of these were installed as part of the 'Jubilee Concession', which allowed towns and villages with a post office to apply for a kiosk. A year later under the 'Tercentenary Concession' celebrating the Post Office's 300th anniversary, a further 1,000 kiosks were installed over 12 years for local authorities paying a five-year subscription of £4. A minor alteration in the K6 design occurred following the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, when the ‘Tudor’ crown motif was replaced with St. Edward’s crown. From 1955 the Crown of Scotland was used for kiosks in that country, a slot in the fascia allowing either version to be inserted into all of those manufactured from this date. The model continued in production until 1968 when the more modernist K8, designed by Bruce Martin, was introduced.

Sources - Primary Sources
1 OS map sheet 125-09 (1975)

Secondary Sources
1. N. Johannessen, ‘Telephone Boxes’ Shire Publications (Princes Risborough 1994).
2 The Telephone Box - http://www.the-telephone-box.co.uk/ (accessed September 2019)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A fully operational telephone kiosk of the K6 type designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Once common, these iconic pieces of street furniture are now increasingly rare, and intact working examples such as this, even more so. The kiosk is somewhat unusual in that it is set within what is now the garden of a private property, (the latter having served as the local post office for much of the 20th century.)

General comments

BPN placed of kiosk by Mid-Ulster Council 12/04/2019