K6 telephone box adjacent to the Frant post office and store, Frant, East Sussex

Entry Name: K6 telephone box adjacent to the Frant post office and store

Listing Date: 13 July 2017

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1444524

ID on this website: 101444524

Location: Frant, Wealden, East Sussex, TN3

County: East Sussex

District: Wealden

Civil Parish: Frant

Built-Up Area: Frant

Traditional County: Sussex

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): East Sussex

Tagged with: Telephone booth

Summary

A K6 telephone kiosk, from a design of 1935 by Sir Charles Gilbert Scott.

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, as found on the K2. There are rectangular white display signs, reading TELEPHONE beneath the shallow curved roof. It has modernised internal equipment. The kiosk retains the majority of its glass windows; its red paint is flaking in places.

It stands at a village crossroads, immediately east of the village post office (National Heritage List for England reference 1192282; listed at Grade II). The visual and contextual relationship with the post office is emphasised by a tin sign reading TELEPHONE, which is affixed to the front elevation of the building. The kiosk also has partial sight lines to The Limes (NHLE reference 1353511 listed at Grade II) which is located 100m to the north-east, and a stronger visual relationship with the White House (NHLE reference 1353514 listed at Grade II) which is located 60m across the village crossroads to the south-west.

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 Listing

The K6 telephone kiosk in Frant, East Sussex is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* The K6 is an iconic example of industrial design, showing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's adaptation of Neo-classical forms for a modern technological function;

* The Frant K6 telephone kiosk has a strong visual relationship with more than one listed building, and a strong contextual relationship with one of them (Frant Post Office, NHLE 1192282 Grade II).

External Links

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.