Jordans Village Stores Green Road West Beaconsfield HP9 2SY

Landmark, art work or way finder

Assets whose form and function are readily visible, but which are not Buildings. This category includes signage and works of art such as murals and statues.

Asset type

Other site or structure, prominent as a landmark. Many K6 boxes have been statutory listed in the past (2300+ of them on the HE list)

Age

Made in 1935/36

Rarity

Becoming rarer as they are decommissioned. Many replaced in 1960s and later years. Over 11,000 K6s remain and they are the most visible examples of the eight kiosk types

Architectural and Artistic Interest

Well preserved example designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and is a cast iron, square kiosk, with a domed roof, unperforated crowns to the top panels and margin glazing to windows and door, which is constructed of teak. The base is concrete. It could be argued that it is their red colour that make these telephone boxes so iconic. They were originally painted red so that they were easy to spot. 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. Many still remain, however, and continue to be an iconic feature on Britain's streetscapes. http://www.the-telephone-box.co.uk/kiosks/k6/#:~:text=The%20K6%20was%20designed%20by%20Sir%20Giles%20Gilbert,most%20visible%20examples%20of%20the%20eight%20kiosk%20types.

Group Value

Group value: it has a strong visual relationship with both the nearby postbox and the village shop.

Historic Interest

The K6 (short for Kiosk No. 6) was designed in 1935 by British designer and architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Although it is the most famous phone box design to date, this was actually the sixth version of the phone box to hit our streets (hence its name!). The phone box was introduced by the Post Office to increase communication around the country, and they were not just used in the UK, but in Bermuda, Malta and Gibraltar as well. Few people have need to use a public phone box these days, so most have been decommissioned, destroyed, sold to private buyers, or like this one repurposed as a community asset.

Landmark Status

A visual landmark in the centre of the village, observable from across the central green and almost immediately apparent when entering the private estate from the public highway

10 Jan 2023

07 Dec 2021

Find out more about this Asset in Buckinghamshire's Local Heritage List:
https://local-heritage-list.org.uk/buckinghamshire/asset/5628