K6
This derelict telephone box is no longer in use, except as a piece of garden sculpture. The history of the design is as follows:
The red telephone box was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880- 1960)
Scott's design of the K2 cast iron telephone kiosk won a Post Office competition in 1924. His updated K6 design followed in 1935.
The red K2 telephone box was introduced to London in 1926. It was used mostly in the capital and only a few were erected elsewhere. About 1500 K2 kiosks were produced and only a few remain today.
In 1935, the Post Office commissioned a new kiosk from Scott to celebrate the Jubilee of King George V. The K6 Jubilee Kiosk was similar to the K2 but was 25% lighter in weight, at around three quarters of a ton. By the end of the 1930s there were 20,000 K6 telephone boxes in use all over the UK.
In the 1970s and 80s, problems with vandalism and a failure to repair damage resulted in the demise of the classic red telephone box. In 1985 a newly privatised BT announced sweeping changes to improve the condition of kiosks. Many K6 telephone boxes were removed and sold off. The replacement boxes had little design merit. Fortunately, about 2000 red telephone boxes were declared listed buildings and remain in place.
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