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 and 1953. Located beside the Downshire Arms Hotel (HB17/06/015) to the south end of Newry Street in Banbridge town centre.

Cast-iron body painted red with largely replacement glazing; blank to rear. Door opens to north with an oval metal handle. Each elevation displays the symbolic “Tudor Crown” motif over glazed “TELEPHONE” sign. The interior has a modern telephone.

Setting

At back of pavement in front of Downshire Hotel(HB17/06/015).

Historical information

The current telephone kiosk is of the K6 design by Gilbert Scott and dates from between 1935 and 1953. The T[elephone] C[all] B[ox] 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 British and Irish 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 current kiosk to be dated to between 1935 and 1953.

The kiosk was listed in 1987 and has been moved slightly since then, now occupying a position towards the back of the pavement and slightly to the south of its original location. As the Downshire Arms was extended c2000, the kiosk has now found itself sited in front of the new extension. (HB file)

References:

Primary Sources

1. 1960s/70s OS Map 202
2. NIEA HB file

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A red telephone kiosk of the type “K6” design by Giles Gilberts Scott, dating between 1935 and 1953. The kiosk retains much of its original character. The interior has been fitted with a modern telephone. An increasingly rare example of an iconic design this telephone kiosk is of note.

General comments

This record has been renumbered. It was formerly HB17/06/015A.