Telephone Exchange

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached single-storey telephone exchange building, built c. 1956. It is approximately T-shaped in plan. External walls are clay brick.
To the rear South there is a two-storey framed flat-roofed telephone exchange building, built, c. 1969. External walls are pre-cast concrete panels.
Both buildings are set back from Molesworth Road within the North-eastern suburbs of Cookstown.

North Telephone Exchange Building (1956):
The front North elevation is almost symmetrical and fronts onto Molesworth Road. It has a projecting central gable-ended bay. There are square-headed ‘Crittall’ style steel windows on pre-cast concrete sills.
The East face of the central bay has a square-headed timber door with a four-light overlight. There are two cut-stone steps to the door. The doorway is flanked by two ‘Crittall’ style casement windows with cut-stone surrounds.
The North face of the central bay has raised typeface depicting ‘Telephone Exchange’ over the central window. There is a carved stone datestone over inscribed ‘1965’. This is surmounted by a narrow square-headed vented opening.
The Western side elevation is gable-ended. It has ‘Crittall’ style windows as before. There is a narrow square-headed vented opening. The Eastern side elevation is identical.
The rear (South) elevation has a projecting central gable-ended bay. There are square-headed ‘Crittall’ style double windows as previous. The windows are in two skins with a substantial air gap between. The South face of the central bay has a square-headed glazed timber door with an overlight. There are two cut-stone steps to the door.
The roof is clay 'rosemary' tiles and has projecting carved stone eaves. There are projecting carved stone kneelers to the eaves of the gable-ends. Rainwater goods are cast-iron.

Walls are Flemish-bond clay brick. There is a projecting brick plinth to the base of the elevations.

South Telephone Exchange Building (1969):
The front North elevation has a single-storey recessed entrance bay to the left, with a single-storey canopy over. To the right there is a two-storey block.
The recessed entrance bay has glazed floor-to-ceiling windows with timber frames. There are timber and glazed double doors to the North. The over-sailing canopy has metal panelling to the sides and a timber soffit. There is a single supporting square column to the outer corner supporting the over sailing canopy. The North face of the canopy has a datestone, with the typeface ‘ER II 1969’. There are concrete flagstones to the ground below the canopy.

The two-storey block has an exposed aggregate pre-cast concrete frame to edges. There are metal double doors to the ground floor with a solid metal infill panel over. The first floor pre-cast concrete slabs are exposed. There are floor-to-ceiling glazed panels across the full-width of the block. The glazed panels have metal spandrel panels to the lower pane. All glazing is covered by metal grills.

The side Western elevation has the side of the two-storey block to the left, with a tall single-storey block to the right.
The two-storey block has a floor-to-ceiling height window at upper level. The tall single-storey block has floor-to-ceiling height windows to ground level with metal spandrel panels to the lower pane. Windows are covered by metal grills. There are louvered pre-cast concrete panels over.

The side Eastern elevation has the side elevation of the single-storey entrance canopy to the right. To the left there is a taller single-storey block. The tall single-storey block has floor to ceiling height windows to ground level as previous.
The rear South elevation is the rear of the tall single-storey block with one window opening as previous.

Setting:
The 1950's telephone exchange is slightly set back from the main Molesworth Road. There is a timber fence to the boundary. Behind the boundary there is a high metal fence continuing around the perimeter of the telephone exchange buildings. There is a tarmac parking area to the East and a garden to the West. The buildings are set to the North eastern side of the town centre at the beginning of the mainly Victorian suburban Molesworth Road.

Historical information

Date stone ‘1956’. Noted as a ‘Telephone exchange’ in a valuation entry of 1970.
The annex to the rear was added in 1969

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
G. Innovatory Qualities

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

This is a well preserved example of a mid-twentieth century telephone exchange. It is designed in a modern vernacular style, and is well proportioned and detailed.. The rear telephone exchange building, having been designed only 13 years later, has a clearly modernist appearance. Both buildings provide an insight into the rapid technological advances of the period.