Telephone Kiosk

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A mid 20th century K6 telephone kiosk located prominently in painted red on the road edge of a former post office. The phone booth is of cast-iron construction with a curved roof. Its crown motif on each of its four elevations has been removed, however, key features such as signage displaying ‘Telephone’ in black serif font remain in place. Some of its glass panes remain across its fenestration, however, a large portion have been replaced with perspex window panes.

Roof: Cast-iron
RWG: None
Walling: Cast-iron, painted red
Windows: Single pane with glazing bars

Historical information

A ‘TCB’ or telephone call box, along with a small square denoting the footprint of the same, is marked on this site on the OS map of 1969. The precise date of installation is not known, but the kiosk’s ‘slot’ for the crown motif (see below) indicates that it is of 1955-68. Unusually, the slot itself does not possess an actual crown; the reason behind this is not known, but it occurs on at least one other public kiosk in NI – that near 88 Torr Rd, Cushendun (HED ref HB05 03 048) and at least one in England - in Clifton Street, Lytham St Annes (Historic England listed entry name – 1196366).

GENERAL INFORMATION ON K6 KIOSKS 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 willing to pay a five-year subscription of £4. After 1949 this was succeeded by the ‘Rural Allocation scheme’, under which kiosks were placed in out-of-town areas upon the recommendation of a rural authority.

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 the 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.

References – Primary sources
1 OS map, County series, Tyrone sheet 42 – 1906, 1937; IG sheet 137-14 - 1969

Secondary Sources
2 N. Johannessen, ‘Telephone Boxes’ Shire Publications (Princes Risborough, 2010)
3 Linge, Nigel and Sutton, Andy, ‘The British phonebox’, (Amberley Publishing, 2017)
4 The Telephone Box - http://www.the-telephone-box.co.uk/ (accessed 12 November 2025)
5 GPO - KIOSK No. 6 (K6) - https://www.britishtelephones.com/k6.htm (accessed 12 November 2025)
6 Historic England - https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1196366?section=official-list-entry (accessed 13 November 2025)
7 ‘The K6 Project’ - https://www.thek6project.co.uk/2024/09/27/lytham-st-annes-lancs-fy8-5ej-kiosk-1/ (accessed 13 November 2025)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

The kiosk is a pre-1953 K6 model designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935. It has remained in its original location at 145 Ballynahatty Road, Omagh, largely intact and sits prominently in its setting. The kiosk has retained key features and characteristics such as the domed roof, interior fittings and 'Telephone' display signage in black serif font which are still well intact. This iconic piece of street furniture, once common but almost entirely replaced by modern mobile phone use, is now increasingly rare.