Description

SEDGEHILL AND SEMLEY

1884/0/10012 K6 Telephone kiosk
02-NOV-10

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. It appears to be in good condition with all its windows and display signs intact (2009).

The kiosk is situated on a grassy verge at the centre of the village. Across the street, approximately 30m to the east, stands Semley School and Schoolhouse (Grade II), and adjacent to this is the village pound, also listed at Grade II. Behind the school, approximately 60m north east of the kiosk, stands the Church of St Leonard (Grade II). The kiosk enjoys a visual relationship with this group collectively.

HISTORY: The K6 telephone kiosk is a milestone of C20 industrial design. The K6 was designed by 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. 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 Semley, Wiltshire, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It has a strong visual relationship with two listed buildings
* It is a representative example within a village setting of this important C20 industrial design

Reasons for Listing

The K6 telephone kiosk in Semley, Wiltshire, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It has a strong visual relationship with two listed buildings
* It is a representative example within a village setting of this important C20 industrial design

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26674559

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)