Summary

K6 telephone kiosk, designed in 1935 by Giles Gilbert Scott.

Description

The K6 is a standardised design; it is made from cast iron painted red, is square in plan and is c2.4m tall. The door and side panels are divided into eight horizontal glazed panels with vertical marginal glazing bars. There are rectangular signs above the glazing reading ‘TELEPHONE’, and cast-iron crowns applied above, beneath the shallow Soanian domed roof. It has modern telephone equipment within.

The kiosk stands near the Grade I listed Trophy Gates on the west side of Hampton Court, and has a clear relationship with the palace walls, and the group of listed buildings adjacent on Hampton Court Road.

History

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. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) was one of the most important of modern British architects, responsible for such iconic buildings as the Battersea Power Station and Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral. The K6 was an adaptation of Scott’s earlier highly successful K2 telephone kiosk design of 1924, of neoclassical inspiration. The K6 was more streamlined aesthetically, more compact and more cost effective to mass produce. Over 70,000 K6s were eventually produced and many still remain, continuing to be an iconic feature on Britain's streetscapes.

Reasons for Listing

The K6 telephone kiosk at the Trophy Gates to Hampton Court is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: it is a representative example of its type and remains in good condition, in, or very near its original location;
* Design: designed for mass production and a technological function, Gilbert Scott’s neoclassical form has achieved an iconic design status;
* Group value: it is closely associated with Hampton Court Palace, an exceptional historic site with multiple highly-graded designations, other nearby listed buildings and contributes positively to the setting.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27087649

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

• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)