Telephone Kiosk

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A red telephone kiosk type “K6” designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott; installed between 1935-1953. Located centrally in the village of Loughbrickland adjacent to the boundary walls to St Mellans Parish Church (HB17/03/006).

Cast-iron body painted red with largely replacement glazing; blank rear. Each elevation displays the symbolic “Tudor Crown” motif over the sign displaying “TELEPHONE”.

Setting

Located centrally in the village of Loughbrickland adjacent to the boundary wall to St Mellans Parish Church (HB17/03/006)

Roof: Cast iron
Walling: Cast iron
Windows: Cast iron
RWG: N/A

Historical information

The telephone kiosk is of the K6 design by Gilbert Scott and dates from between 1935 and 1953. The Telephone Call Box is first shown, captioned, on the map edition dating from the 1960s/70s.

The red telephone boxes designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott have become a design icon since their first appearance in the 1920s and 30s. Once a common sight in towns and villages throughout the UK, they were no longer produced after the 1980s and are now increasingly rare.

The first telephone boxes appeared on the British streets in 1884, but there was initially no standard design and it was not until telephone services were taken over by the Post Office in 1912 that a single design was considered. In 1920 K1 was produced by Somerville & Company but the design proved unsatisfactory and in 1924 a competition was announced which was won by Giles Gilbert Scott. Scott was the son of Sir George Gilbert Scott, architect of the Foreign Office and the Albert Memorial and was a celebrated architect in his own right, his designs including Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and Bankside Power Station (now the Tate Modern). Scott’s design, called the K2, featured a distinctive ‘handkerchief dome’ a favourite device of Sir John Soane. (Jones)

K2 boxes were mainly installed in London from 1927 to 1935. Scott’s revised design, the K6, which was introduced to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V, is a simplified version of the K2 that was more reflective of the art deco and ‘stripped’ classicism of the 1930s. The K6 went into service all over the UK and the current telephone box is of this type. Changes to the crown motif in the 1950s allow the kiosk to be dated to between 1935 and 1953.

References:

Primary Sources

1. OS Map of Loughbrickland 1960s/70s.

Secondary Sources

2. Jones, N R “Architecture of England, Scotland and Wales” Greenwood Press, 2005

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
F. Structural System

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A red telephone kiosk type 'K6' designed by Giles Gilbert Scott dating between 1935-1953. Externally the kiosk has retained its essential character although it has undergone some repairs. The interior has been largely modernised with a new telephone. A rare and iconic international design that features detailing making it an earlier model of the 'K6' type.