British Listed Buildings

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Listing Text

TATHAM

1021/0/10003 LOWGILL LANE
08-JUL-09 K6 Telephone kiosk

II
K6 telephone kiosk

DESCRIPTION: The K6 is a standardised design made of cast iron, painted red overall with long horizontal glazing in 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 is in good condition (2009) and retains the majority of its glass windows.

This kiosk is situated approximately 5m away from the main road that runs through the village. It stands in close visual proximity to two listed buildings: Crown House (Grade II), approximately 15m to the south and Ivy Cottage (Grade II), approximately 25m to the south east. Additionally, it is situated less than 10m to the south east of an unlisted but prominent war memorial. The kiosk forms a grouping with these two listed buildings and war memorial collectively, especially when approaching the village from the south.

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 10,000 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 Tatham, Lancashire, is recommended for designation 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
SD6531464768

Source: English Heritage

Listed building text is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under licence: PSI Click-use licence number C2008002006.