The K1 kiosk of 1920 was the first attempt at a standard kiosk and was introduced by the Post Office, the company then responsible for the fledgling telephone network. Designed by Somerville & Company, and initially produced for the sum of £35, a first batch of fifty kiosks were produced. Constructed of pre-cast concrete with a wooden door, the K1 featured a pyramidal form roof topped with a finial.
There were three versions of the K1, the Mk234, 235 and 236. The final version (illustrated on this page), introduced in 1924, featuring larger windows compared to the earlier marks and a roof featuring a wrought ironwork spear and scrolls and a "Telephone" sign (but lacked any illumination of her telephone sign). In appearance the design appeared somewhat temporary and lacked the solidity of later kiosk designs.
The design was not universally appreciated within the Post Office, nor was it adopted universally across the country, so the Post Office began lookeing into alternative designs for a "national" kiosk. Her successor - the K2 - was first installed from 1926, but as that kiosk was expensive to produce the K1 continued to be installed in rural areas until 1931; two K1 kiosks could easily be produced for the cost of one, larger K2 kiosk.
