Telephone Kiosk outside 4 Obre Avenue, Clontylew Road, Portadown BT62 1RT

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A square plan, freestanding K6 telephone kiosk of cast iron construction, painted red with glazing to three of the elevations and a solid panel to the fourth (NE). Built to Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's standardised design of 1935, the kiosk is located in front of No.4 Obre Avenue, Clontilew Road, Tartaraghan, a small hamlet in The Birches, south of Lough Neagh. It appears at this location between the maps of 1954 and 1964.

An 8ft high, 3ft wide symmetrical structure of cast iron sections bolted together, sitting on a concrete base with a shallow, cast-iron domed roof carried on moulded pediments.

The panels beneath the roof have cream-coloured opaque glass rectangular signs reading ‘Telephone’ (NW and SW sides are faded, NE and SE have been replaced) and are surmounted by a raised crown moulding (the St Edward's Crown introduced post 1953) on each of the four elevations.

SE and NW sides are infilled with margin-paned replacement perspex panels with the exception of two middle panels on the SW side which have been infilled with painted plywood.

The NE (rear) side has a blank back panel and foundry plate beneath (unable to read due to over-painting, however other kiosks of this era were manufactured by the Saracen Foundry, Glasgow).

Setting
The telephone kiosk is located on a grass verge in front of No.4 Obre Avenue, which is in a row of other similar houses facing onto Clontylew Road, Tartaraghan. The rear of the kiosk faces towards the houses. It is located to the south of Lawson’s Bar (HB14/01/007), now called ‘The Head o the road’.

Materials
Roof: Cast-iron
RWG: None
Walling: Cast-iron, painted
Windows: Replacement perspex

Historical information

This telephone box is not shown on the OS map of 1954, but does appear on that of 1964, so was presumably installed sometime between these dates.

It is one of the K6 models, 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.

The telephone box bears a St Edward's crown motif, which was introduced in the mid 1950's following the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Prior to this time, during the reign of King George VI (1936-1952), the more rounded Tudor crown motif was used on telephone boxes.

Sources - Primary Sources
1 OS maps 1954,1964

Secondary Sources
1 The Telephone Box - http://www.the-telephone-box.co.uk/ (accessed March 2019)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A K6 model telephone kiosk of cast iron construction, built to Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's standardised design of 1935 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V, located in Tartaraghan, a small hamlet in The Birches, south of Lough Neagh. It appears at this location between the maps of 1954 and 1964. The telephone box bears a St Edward's crown motif, which was introduced in the mid 1950s following the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Despite the loss of the original glazed panels and replacement with perspex, this is an important example of an iconic piece of street furniture which is now increasingly rare. It is within visual range of the listed vernacular public house and greatly adds to the distinctiveness of the settlement of Tartaraghan.