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Old 21st Nov 2017, 7:19 pm   #18
Pellseinydd
Heptode
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Flintshire, UK.
Posts: 707
Default Re: Southampton - number of digits on dial label in 1958

Quote:
Originally Posted by giraffenigel View Post
Thanks, that's what I thought but the one on Bob's site had an earlier label attachment.php

Do you think it would have been 5 numbers in Southampton in 1958 Ian?
In 1958 'Southampton' consisted of a 'Main exchange' - Central in Ogle Road with 12,502 lines,
plus satellite exchanges in a Linked Numbering Scheme (LNS) -
'Bassett' with 1684 lines
'Hampton' with 4013 lines
'Shirley' with 4609 lines
'Woolston' with 2203 lines.
All were known as 'Southampton' numbers with the above being the engineering names. There was no code to dial between the exchanges as the initial digits in an LNS routed the call to the correct exchange.
Number of lines as at 31st March 1958.

The numbers were in the ranges 2xxxx, 4xxxx, 5xxxx, 6xxxx and 7xxxx in 1958. I would suspect that the 2xxxx numbers were 'Central' but quite how the others were allocated would take more research. (Info from the November 1958 Southampton Directory)

Codes in the 8x and 8xx were to exchanges that could be reached for the cost of a local call (two old pennies in 1958)

I should also point out that numbers that were in the 0703 STD code which was 'Southampton' Linked Numbering Scheme' in later years weren't always given the name 'Southampton xxxxxx'. For instance 'Rownham' UAX13 exchange with three digit numbers was 823 from Southampton and had the STD code 0421 3 in later years (STD didn't start in earnest until 1960) but when it went later from four to six digit numbers, the STD code changed to 0703 and they became six digit Southampton numbers.

So if you are trying to have a 1958 number for your local exchange set up, it will take a bit more digging to see if they were in the Southampton LNS or a smaller exchange off Southampton?

On CNet (our replica of the old GPO public network) we still dial use the old local codes. So Rownham is still 823 .... from a Southampton number on CNet or 0421 3 .... from outside the local area. I have a huge database of old codes which is growing all the time.

Ian
CNet 0352 2345
MR ETD 053-6278

Last edited by Pellseinydd; 21st Nov 2017 at 7:26 pm.
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