K8 kiosk at Chalfont and Latimer Station

Summary

K8 telephone kiosk.

Reasons for Designation

The K8 telephone kiosk at Chalfont and Latimer station is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* for Bruce Martin’s meticulously simplified and updated design, a classic work of C20 industrial design which is immediately recognisable as the post-war iteration of Scott’s earlier K2 and K6 kiosks;

* as a nationally rare survival of a once common telephone kiosk, first introduced in 1968.

Historic interest:
* the K8 is the last generation of the red public telephone box, making an important contribution to the understanding of the historic development of the telecommunications industry in England before the introduction and subsequent widespread use of mobile phones;

* as an example of the K8’s adoption for internal use on the London Underground network.

Group value:
* sited in the public realm on the station platform, it has group value with the unlisted station building with which its use is associated.

History

The K8 telephone kiosk was manufactured to a design by Bruce Martin, following a competition held by the General Post Office (GPO) in 1965.

The main requirement for the K8 in the GPO’s design brief was that it should be easy to re-assemble on site and easy to maintain and repair in the future. This condition was met by the use of cast iron and toughened glass. The brief also stated that the kiosk had to last for at least 50 years and be recognised as the next generation of telephone boxes in the UK, following on from it's predecessor, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's now iconic K6.

Martin analysed Scott’s K6 meticulously. He simplified and reduced its high number of components to ones which could be used flexibly to suit the site of the kiosk. The final design had only seven principal components. Martin’s K8 respected the dimensions and form of Scott’s kiosk but offered simplified, contemporary styling, avoiding the explicit neo-classical references of the earlier design. Two variations of the roof dome were made, a Mk 1 and a Mk 2, the latter generally adopted from 1976 in response to casting problems with the Mk 1. The Mk 1 had a cast lip framing the 'TELEPHONE' signs and the Mk 2 had a lip which ran over the top of the sign and continued around each corner of the dome. The K8 at Chalfont and Latimer has the Mk 2 dome. The kiosks were manufactured by the Lion Foundry Company Ltd and the Carron Manufacturing Company. Approximately 11,000 were installed throughout the UK between 1968 and 1983, when production ceased.

The role of some K8s on the London Underground differed from those elsewhere. They were intended for use by station staff and were inaccessible to the public. They housed London Underground internal telephony and were painted different colours in reference to their use and the type of equipment housed within. In later years they were painted to match the colour scheme of the station. These colours also distinguished the kiosks from other K8s, indicating that they were not for public use.

Bruce Martin (1917-2015) studied engineering at the University of Hong Kong before qualifying in architecture at the Architectural Association. He joined the Hertfordshire County Council architectural department and became part of the group that was responsible for the so-called 'Hertfordshire Experiment': a progressive approach to building primary schools using pioneering construction techniques, pre-fabricated buildings and child-centred design focus. Morgan’s Junior School in Hertford, designed by Martin, is listed at Grade II* (National Heritage List for England entry: 1119734).

Details

K8 telephone kiosk, produced to designs by Bruce Martin for the General Post Office from 1968. This example post-dates 1976.

MATERIALS: cast iron, aluminium and glass.

DESCRIPTION: the kiosk is painted maroon to match the station colours and the colour of the Metropolitan Line which it serves. It is square in plan and has six cast iron parts: a floor plate, a roof dome and four side panels. The panel to the rear is solid cast iron, the two adjoining panels each hold a large pane of toughened glass in a rectangular frame with rounded corners, and the fourth holds an aluminium door, glazed to match the side panels.

The roof dome is a Mk 2 design, having a continuous cast lip. It is flat on top and has softly squared corners. Each face carries round-cornered rectangular panes of toughened glass, the one over the door bearing the word ‘Telephone’.

The kiosk contains a station-to-station telephone and an in-station autophone.

The kiosk stands on platform 2 for southbound services.

Sources

Books and journals
Stamp, G, Telephone Boxes (1989),
Linge, Nigel, Sutton, Andy, The British Phonebox (2017),
British Telecom, , Britain's Public Payphones - A Social History (1984),
Johannessen, N, Telephone Boxes (1994),
In Celebration of the K8 Telephone Kiosk - Britain's Last Red, Cast-Iron Phonebox in Industrial Archaeology Review, ,Vol. 42, (21 October 2020), pp. 141-153
New Kiosk for 1968 - and 2018! in Post Office Magazine, ,Vol. , (August 1966), pp. 5-6
The smallest building: The genesis of the Mark 8 telephone box in RIBA Journal, ,Vol. , (August 1969), pp. 320-325

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