K4 Kiosk
The No. 4 kiosk was introduced. It was first
proposed in 1923 and a prototype was erected in Bath in 1926. In
addition to the telephone it contained facilities for buying stamps and
posting letters. The standard No. 4 kiosk was designed by the Post
Office Engineering Department on the basis of the successful No. 2 and
received final approval in 1927. It was constructed in cast iron and was
considerably larger than any of the other types.
Painted vermilion outside and a flame colour inside, it gained the nickname of 'The Vermilion Giant'. Only 50 of these kiosks were ever made, at an original cost of £50 6s 9d each. They were intended to be a miniature Post Office, located where no such facilities existed or where expense prevented a sub-post office from being built.
Unfortunately these kiosks were unsuccessful. Many people complained about the noise of the stamp machine while they were using the telephone, and the rolls of stamps in the machine tended to become soggy in damp weather. For these reasons, and because of the high unit cost, the Post Office decided in 1935 that no further kiosks of this type would be installed.
Cast iron structure incorporating a posting box and
stamp selling machine (Engineering Department) (1928).
Coloured inside and outside in Red 539 with underside of roof painted in white
enamel
.
Taken from BT archives
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