The Last K6 Telephone Kiosk

         K6 Telephone Kiosk, Totley Brook Road

The last red telephone box in our area stood on the south side of Totley Brook Road, close to its junction with Busheywood Road. It was removed, we believe, in November 2013. In byegone days the village had red telephone kiosks on Baslow Road outside both Totley and Totley Rise post offices.

The box was a type K6, designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V and manufactured at the Lion Foundary in Kirkintilloch. It was version C, meaning that the door was hinged at the left side of the back board.

It was eight feet in height and three feet in width, constructed of cast iron sections, bolted together, and standing on a concrete base. Three sides were glazed identically with eight horizontal panels containing a wide central pane and two narrow outer panes, although our box had been missing its two large bottom panes for some years. The door was made of teak, to make it lighter and easier to open, with a metal cup handle.

         K6 telephone kiosk, looking towards Abbeydale Road South

Some 60,000 K6 telephone kiosks were manufactured between 1936 and 1968 of which around 11,000 are thought to remain. Because they are recognized as enhancing the appearance and preserving the stability of an area, many K6 boxes have been awarded listed building status but unfortunately not ours.