GV II K6 telephone kiosk

DESCRIPTION The K6 is a standardised design made of cast iron, painted red overall with long horizontal glazing in the door and sides and with the crowns situated on the top panels being applied not perforated. There are rectangular white display signs, reading TELEPHONE beneath the shallow-curved roof. It has modernised internal equipment. One of the dome's four supporting pillars is cracked and eight out of the twenty-four large panes of glass have been replaced with polycarbonate. The kiosk is located on Westgate, in front of the Grade II listed, early C19 boundary wall and gate piers to Dunham House (qv). The kiosk stands directly in front of the later, mid-C19 curved walls and gate piers which are included in the list description. To the east, the kiosk faces six Grade II listed buildings and has a strong visual relationship with only the first three: Hilliers, 11 Westgate; Cromwell House, 13 Westgate; and 15 Westgate.

HISTORY: The K6 telephone kiosk is a milestone of C20 industrial design. The K6 was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935 for the General Post Office, on the occasion of King George V's Silver Jubilee. The K6 was a development from his earlier highly successful K2 telephone kiosk design of 1924, of Neo-classical inspiration. The K6 was more streamlined aesthetically, more compact and more cost-effective to mass produce. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) was one of the most important of modern British architects; his many celebrated commissions include the Anglican cathedral of Liverpool and Battersea power station. The K2 and K6 telephone kiosks can be said to represent a very thoughtful adaptation of architectural tradition to contemporary technological requirements. Well over 70,000 K6s were eventually produced. In the 1960s many were replaced with far plainer kiosk types, but many still remain, and continue to be an iconic feature on Britain's streetscapes.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The K6 telephone kiosk in Southwell, designed in 1935, situated in a conservation area, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Design: it is an iconic C20 industrial design by Giles Gilbert Scott * Group Value: it has a close visual relationship with five listed buildings (1)

English Heritage, Listed Buildings Online (Unknown). SNT2439.

<1> English Heritage, Listed Buildings Online (Unknown). SNT2439.