Telephone Kiosk

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A freestanding type K6 telephone kiosk constructed to Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's standardised design of 1935. Cast iron construction painted red with glazing to three elevations (W, N, S) and incorporating a solid panel to the fourth elevation (E). The Gorticashel Road kiosk bears the Tudor Crown design, which dates manufacture to between 1936 and 1953, the K6 design was discontinued in 1968.

The kiosk is located approx. 3m from the adjacent carriageway edge and opposite a cluster of buildings, which previously had been a Post Office.

Historical information

Two minor design features, (namely the asymmetrically arranged cable entry holes near the bottom of the rear panel and the particular version of the Tudor crown motif), indicate that this kiosk was manufactured sometime between 1939 and 1953. It is not marked on the 1952 OS map, but on that of 1974 a call box (‘TCB’) is marked several metres away to the southeast, to the south of no.212 Gorticashel Road (which was at that point the local post office). From these maps it may be conjectured that the kiosk is of c.1952-53 and that it was moved to its present location post-1974, possibly as a consequence of the extending of no.212 itself.

The maker's mark on the rear panel shows that this particular kiosk was manufactured by the Carron Company, of Carron, Falkirk, the noted iron foundry established in 1759, which by 1814 had become the largest of its kind in Europe. Initially producing mainly armaments and steam engines, the firm subsequently diversified to include the manufacture of domestic products such as stoves, and street furniture. Latterly know as Carron Phoenix, the company was sold to its present owners in 1990.

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, IG sheet 106-3NE - 1952, 1974

Secondary Sources
2 N. Johannessen, ‘Telephone Boxes’ Shire Publications (Princes Risborough, 2010)3
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)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This telephone kiosk designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott is a 1936 to 1953 K6 model, as indicated by the presence of a moulded Tudor crown cypher. It is noted this kiosk has been moved from its original location, as such the kiosk is of insufficent special architectural or historic interest to consider it suitable for listing.