Mid 20th century K6 telephone box, near E.T. Foakes Memorial Hall (EHER 82782)

K6 telephone box designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott for the General Post Office on the occasion of King George V's Silver Jubilee. The K6 is made of cast iron and is painted red. There is long horizontal glazing in the door and sides and the crowns situated on the top panels are applied not perforated. There are rectangular white display signs, reading TELEPHONE beneath the roof. It has modernised internal equipment. The telephone box was assessed for listing in 2009 but failed to meet the required criteria.

NRHE data transfer: March 2009. Listing consideration. The K6 telephone kiosk is a milestone of 20th century 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. 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 a new kiosk type. But many still remain, and continue to be an iconic feature on Britain's streetscapes. The K6 is a standardised design made of cast iron and painted red overall. There is long horizontal glazing in the door and sides and the crowns, situated on the top panels, are applied and not perforated. There are rectangular white display signs, reading TELEPHONE beneath the shallow-curved roof. It has modernised internal equipment. The K6 on Stortford Road is located immediately adjacent to the south-west corner of E.T. Foakes Memorial Hall, an unlisted 1930s building. To the west is a car park with a commercial garage beyond. The natural topography of the area has resulted in all buildings on the north side of Stortford Road being on a downward slope. The K6 is in good condition. It has been repainted and the paintwork is in good condition. Horizontal and vertical glazing bars divide each of the three glazed sides into eight panes with flanking narrow margin lights. The K6 kiosk in Great Dunmow is largely intact but located adjacent to a car park and is therefore not in a setting of exceptional interest. The Grade II Westbury House and no. 47 Stortford Road can be seen from the K6, but other listed structures to the west and east cannot be observed. Owing to the natural topography and the shrub-lined boundary to the memorial hall, the K6 cannot be clearly seen in conjunction with the listed buildings and consequently there is no strong visual link. The criteria for listing K6 telephone kiosks are necessarily demanding and without a reciprocal strong visual relationship with the listed structures, the K6 on Stortford Road does not meet the criteria for listing. The K6 telephone kiosk at Great Dunmow is not recommended for designation for the following principal reason. * Although it is a largely intact example of a K6 kiosk, it is not located in an exceptional setting and does not have a strong visual relationship with nearby listed structures. <1>