Telephone Call-box opposite Pillar of Eliseg

Cadw's description

Location

At fork in road on west side of the A542 Horseshoe Pass road between the Pillar of Eliseg to north and Valle Crucis Abbey to south.

History

A K6 mark 2 type telephone kiosk installed at an important heritage location after 1949, first shown on 1963 ordnance survey map. Tudor crown on kiosk suggests installation before 1953.

The K6 was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, architect of London, and introduced UK-wide by the General Post Office in 1936, with minor changes for the K6 Mark 2 from 1939 to make the kiosks less vulnerable to vandalism and coin theft. The K6 was a smaller, lighter and cheaper version of Scott’s 1924 competition winning design for the K2 ‘national kiosk’, which in the event were largely restricted to London. Scott took inspiration from John Soane’s family tomb for the shallow squared dome roof of the kiosk, and for the K6 introduced wider glass panels influenced by Modernist architecture.

Exterior

Red-painted cast-iron kiosk with two glazed sides, blank rear and wooden door with inserted glazed iron panel. Door on west face fitted opposite back panel and hinged left (known as door type A according to Diagram EC1324 of Specification D1140Q). Square plan with concrete plinth set into slope, glazing each side in horizontal panels with marginal bars. Top has four opalescent panels under shallow Soaneian domed roof with lunettes, each with embossed Tudor crown. Opalescent panels have monolingual ‘TELEPHONE’ lettering. Tudor crowns are oval bottomed as in the Mark 2 type. Rear panel is a steel replacement of K6 Mark 2 type with caps to asymmetrical cable run-in holes at base and no foundry plate in between.

Interior

Modernised receiver equipment and shelf for telephone directory, with post-1970s rectangular steel cabinet electrical closet below.

Reason for designation

Listed for architectural and historic interest as a K6 call box in a nationally important heritage location having group value with nearby listed buildings including the Pillar of Eliseg, Valle Crucis Abbey, the well house at Abbey Farm and Maes y Llyn farm building.