Summary

K6 telephone kiosk, designed 1935, located at the junction of Church Street and Berkeley Street.

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. The telephone kiosk is in good condition, and retains glazed windows.

The telephone kiosk stands in a prominent location at the junction of Church Street and Berkeley Street, opposite a memorial to local men who fell during the First World War (also being considered for listing). The telephone kiosk is located approximately 100m south of The Old School (listed at grade II), and 150m south of the Church of St Helen (listed at grade II*). Additionally, to the west of the telephone kiosk is the former village post office (not listed), and 7 Berkeley Street, or The Springs (listed at grade II).

INTERIOR: Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 it is declared that the modern telecommunications equipment within the K6 is not of special architectural or historic interest.

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 a new kiosk type. But many still remain, and continue to be an iconic feature on Britain's streetscapes.

The 1952 Ordnance Survey map shows a public telephone box (TCB or Telephone Call Box) at the junction of Church Street and Berkeley Street in Sibbertoft, close to the village post office (not listed).

Reasons for Listing

The K6 telephone kiosk in Sibbertoft is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Design/aesthetic interest: the K6 is an iconic C20 industrial design by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott;

* Strong visual relationship: the telephone kiosk holds a strong visual relationship with Sibbertoft war memorial, which stands opposite at the junction of Church Street and Berkeley Street;

* Group value: the telephone kiosk also holds a strong group value with the nearby Old School and The Springs, both listed at Grade II.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478369

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

• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)