By the 1920s a competition, organised by the Metropolitan Boroughs Joint Standing Committee and Royal Fine Art Commission was arranged to alleviate the proliferation of different kiosks and to settle on a single design for the country. By 1924, invitations to submit designs were submitted and a successful design selected. Of those different designs submitted, the winning entry was that by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was born on 9th November 1880 (he died on 8th February 1960) and came from a pre-eminent family of architects. His father was George Gilbert Scott Junior and his grandfather Sir George Gilbert Scott Senior. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott produced iconic designs in Britain including those for Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station. His design for Liverpool Cathedral was submitted in 1903, when he was just twenty-two years old.
With the successful design chosen, the Post Office introduced the K2 (Kiosk No 2). Over the succeeding decades a total of six further designs were produced making a total of eight individual K-"Kiosk" designs. Please visit the variants page to learn more about the different designs for a national kiosk.
Q: What are the dimensions of a telephone kiosk?
A: The K2 telephone kiosk was approximately 9ft 3in/282cm high and 3ft 6in/107cm wide. The K6 and K8 telephone kiosks were both approximately 8ft 3in/251cm high and 3ft 5in/91cm wide.
Q: Why are the kiosks painted red?
A: Red was a highly visible colour. Post boxes also owned by the General Post Office were painted red so the choice of colour was an obvious decision. Originally Scott had intended his kiosks to be painted silver, with a "greeny-blue" interior; but for the internal workings of the Post Office Britain might never have had a Red Telephone Box.
Q: How many telephone kiosks were installed in the United Kingdom?
Approximate figures indicate the following numbers of kiosks: K1, 6,300; K2, 1,700; K3, 12,000; K4, 50: K5, none; K6, 60,000; K7, 12 (prototypes only); K8, 11,000.
Q: How many telephone kiosks remain in the United Kingdom?
A: Most telephone kiosks are now listed buildings. Figures from February 2001 record the following numbers of listed kiosks: K1, five; K2, two-hundred and five; K3, two; K4, five; K5, none; K6, one-thousand, eight-hundred and forty; K7, none. No K8 kiosks have been listed. There are only believed to be twelve remaining functioning K8 kiosks in the UK.
Q: Where there any other telephone kiosks?
A: Yes, prior and subsequent to the General Post Office monopoly, examples of kiosks were installed in many parts of the country. For example, following privatisation rival companies such as Mercury Communications established fledgling kiosk networks; allbeit it generally with limited success.
Q: Where can I see some of the rarer types of telephone kiosks?
A: To view these kiosks in person, the National Telephone Kiosk Collection forms part of the Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings in Bromgsrove, Worcestershire (England). The collection comprises examples of all GPO kiosks as well as a collection of kiosks from other independent telephone companies, the Automobile Association (AA) and the Royal Automobile Club (RAC). Please click on the links section for a link to the website of the Avoncroft Museum. A visit to this museum is highly recommended.