The freehold for two red phone boxes on Ramsgate seafront has gone on the market.
The listed British Red Telephone Boxes are up for grabs for £50,000 for the pair and are being marketed by Oakwood Homes (Commercial).
The “K6″ red phone boxes or “Jubilee” kiosks, commemorating the Silver Jubilee of the coronation of King George V are 8’3” high and 3ft square and come with an electrical supply.
The Ramsgate pair were used for the launch of Ring Ring Ice Cream in 2021. The boxes had been bought by isle resident Dan Montila at auction in April of that year.
This summer they were used briefly as a base for Dirtee Feast doughnuts, ice cream and toppings, coinciding with the business move to The Churchill Tavern from the now closed Ravensgate Arms.
Now the boxes are back on the market waiting for the next entrepreneur to take them over.
They were originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed Battersea Power Station and Bankside Power Station, now the Tate Modern.
Historic England has listed to preserve the country’s K6s and many have been transformed into coffee shops, ice cream kiosks, bakeries, and defibrillator holders.
The total number of surviving K2 telephone boxes is around 224 in the UK including the two on Ramsgate seafront, outside Wetherspoon.
Find the listing here
i wonder are all the dinghies in the channel allowed to enter ?
Battersea had two archetechs, Giles Gilbert Scott was the one that designed the outside, however there was another that designed the internal structure.
Says a lot for today’s rentier mentality.I am sure someone will buy them and then try to fence off public space,but has the owner done anything to justify a £50k price tag.Elsewhere BT are transferring them to community groups for £1,so that they are turned into mini libraries or Tourist information kiosks.This being Thanet,someone wants to make a fast buck for doing nothing.
The report has mixed up Kiosk number 2 or K2 with these boxes which are K6’s.
Back in the 1920’s local authorities were not best pleased with early designs for telephone boxes and a competition was organised by the Royal Fine Arts Commission.Giles Gilbert Scott was the winner by coming up with the K2 box which is neo-georgian design. The K2 was a much larger box and was costly to produce,so Scott came up with the smaller and cheaper K6 around the time of the jubilee of George V in 1935 ( see Jubilee railway engine elsewhere in IOTN),hence jubilee box.originally Scott wanted them painted in silver Vis the jubilee.I recall that he referenced the design from a monument but I cannot remember where.
The pity of the design,though it is a classic is that an art deco box never made the grade,it would have been interesting to see what might have been produced.
Design influenced by Sir John Soane’s grave
Interesting
Hahaha, £50k what a joke, maybe £5k, must be on crack, or a greedy tw@
Just shows how stupid the UK has become 50 k . My 1st house cost me 11500 in 1979 . When will this madness end .
It’s only Freehold if he owns the land they are on and I really doubt that. Worth looking into if you are a respective buyer, the Land registry office will confirm.
Do us a favour, and look it up.