K2 and K6 red telephone boxes

click photo to enlarge
One of the poor decisions of the 1980s was that made by the newly privatised BT (British Telecom) to introduce a new design of telephone box (sometimes called a kiosk). The original designs were so well-liked by British people, and had become one of the symbols of the UK to non-natives, that any new design was bound to provoke a negative reaction. And so it proved. The sleek KX100 design, though it was undoubtedly cheaper to make, maintain and clean, was much reviled and vandalised. Such is the consequence of knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing.

We didn't know it in the 1980s, but the life of the telephone box was limited; the rise of the mobile phone has by now made them all but redundant. However, such is the affection that they engender, that many councils bought redundant boxes for a nominal fee, retained them in their original locations, and turned them to new uses such as information points and free "swap libraries". British Telecom kept some in strategic locations as phone boxes for heritage reasons. The other day we came upon a few in Smithfield Market in London.

The pair in the photograph above are two of the most common designs. On the left is a K2. There were 1,700 examples made of which just over 200 are still in place. This was the first type to be painted red. It was designed for the General Post Office (GPO) by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1924. The first examples were installed in 1926 and in 1935 it was phased out to be replaced by the K6, which is the model on the right. This was also the work of Scott. He designed it in 1935, the first example was introduced in 1936, and production finally ended in 1968. A grand total of 60,000 were manufactured of which 10,700 remain. It wasn't the novelty of finding some telephone boxes with phones still in them that prompted my photograph so much as the strident colours in the background of the "GPO red" paintwork. For more information about Britain's telephone boxes this site is a great resource.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo Title: K2 and K6 Telephone Boxes, Smithfield Market, London
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 16mm (32mm - 35mm equiv.) crop
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO:1600
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Giles Gilbert Scott and the K6

click photo to enlarge

Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960), is known as the architect of Britain's largest church - the Anglican cathedral at Liverpool - as well as many other ecclesiastic and civic buildings including the new Bodleian Library, Oxord, and Battersea and Bankside power stations (the latter is now Tate Modern). However, in circles wider than architecture and its history he is best known as the designer of our country's iconic red telephone box.

The first telephone kiosks, erected in the 1920s, were rather dour, concrete structures. They received the designation K1, meaning kiosk design Number 1. In 1924 a competition was held to design something better. Three architects submitted their ideas, and the judges, the Royal Fine Arts Commission, selected Giles Gilbert Scott's entry as the winner. His K2 design incorporates vaguely classical elements and a top that is thought to derive from Sir John Soane's mausoleums at St Pancras Old Churchyard and Dulwich Picture Gallery. The main structure was made of cast iron (though Scott wanted mild steel), and the strong red colour was intended to make it easily noticed. It was introduced across London, and in 1926 a modified design (K3) made of reinforced concrete for low-revenue sites was produced. Fifty K4 derivatives were produced from 1927: they included a postage stamp dispensing machine. In 1934 a plywood kiosk was made, designed to be easily assembled and dis-assembled for exhibitions.

But, it was the K6 of 1935, designed to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V, that put the red telephone box on the map. Thousands were made to replace older models and for use in towns and cities across the country. The red colour was initially unpopular, and other colours (including grey) were used in areas of environmental and historical sensitivity. Eventually, public affection grew for the shape and colour, and it became a familiar and well-regarded part of Britain's landscape. Subsequent designs were made based on Scott's original. However, with the creation of British Telecom as a private company in the 1980s the old kiosks began to be replaced by newer, lower-maintenance designs. The life of these unloved boxes looks like being relatively short due to the now ubiquitous mobile phone. But, many of the original K6 boxes live on as listed buildings. Parishes were given the opportunity to retain the old style boxes providing they took over basic maintenance of the structures. Many did so, though not all treat them with the respect they deserve, and it is not unusual to see a faded box, the red paint now pink and peeling, languishing in a rural backwater.

Today's photograph shows the telephone box in the village where I live. I caught it on a morning of hoar frost and took the shot with my pocket camera.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 5.1mm (24mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f2.5
Shutter Speed: 1/125
ISO: 80
Exposure Compensation: -0.66 EV
Image Stabilisation: On