Former local dialling codes for Staffordshire/Stoke.

[cmgunn3r]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could help me??

My dad is trying to restore a Bakelite 300 series phone. We have managed to recreate the dial label with thanks to this forum.

But, we are struggling to find the little booklet that suppose to be in the tray below the phone. If anybody could help my dad is particularly interest in getting one that includes areas of Staffordshire and stoke on trent.

Fingers crossed somebody can help. the ones we found via internet only cover Birmingham and London areas

Thanks
Dave

[OscarFoxtrot]

Did phone directories have local codes in the front, or were they only in the separate dialling code booklet/card?

Local library/archives probably has old phone directories.

[paulsherwin]

I think the OP is referring to the little booklet of local codes which went in the small drawer at the bottom of the phone. Originally these contained the codes to access other exchanges in the local area, and predated STD. The Stoke one would have contained codes for places like Congleton, Leek, Stafford and Nantwich.

I don't have one though, despite coming from Stoke.

[russell_w_b]

You might have some luck from the Telecommunications Heritage Group. Worth joining for the quarterly bulletins! This section may be of particular interest...

[OscarFoxtrot]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

I think the OP is referring to the little booklet of local codes which went in the small drawer at the bottom of the phone.

Yes; I was thinking that with access to the appropriate information it would be possible to mock one up.

Was it the case you could dial multiple local codes to get a long (ish) distance call for the price of a local one. This needed knowledge of the other local codes' local codes.

[Herald1360]

In a word, yes.

Distance was limited by the lack of amplification to about 70 miles or so. It wasn't actually legal, either......

Useful to avoid the old "a" rate trunk call charges, though.

Knowledge was simply a case of looking in phone boxes along the way.

[julie_m]

If you weren't careful, though, you could end up dialling too many 9's in a row .....

Also, the routing wasn't as straightforward as you think, because short codes originating from incoming trunks were sometimes treated differently than short codes originating from local numbers.

To dial Ashbourne (0335) from Derby (0332), the code was 91. To dial Derby from Etwall (028373), the code was 993. To dial Ashbourne from Etwall, the code was 9939, not 99391.

To dial Burton-on-Trent (0283) from Etwall, the code was 9. To dial Burton from Derby, the code was 962. To dial Sudbury (028378), the code was 78 from Burton, 978 from Etwall or 96278 from Derby. But to dial Etwall from Derby, the code was 963, not 96273. (I'm guessing Derby to Etwall was a common enough route to need its own short code; also, Sudbury numbers were 3 digits, while Etwall numbers were 4 digits.)

Interestingly, Etwall to Cannock (about 30 miles by road) was charged as a local call; because Etwall was trunked from Burton-on-Trent, Lichfield (0543) was local to Burton, and Cannock (05435) was trunked from Lichfield. When Etwall went 6-digit, 93 for Derby worked for awhile; though the directory advertised "0332" as the code to call Derby from Etwall 6-digit numbers. I believe all short codes went away when the "1" was inserted into STD codes.

Hmmmm ..... I really can't believe I can remember all this stuff .....

[KW2000A]

Trying to avoid thread drift BUT...was it not the case that at least the first digits had to be <tap dialled> by moving the switchhooks at a rate which simulated the dial pulses? It's a very long time ago but this was taught to me ( a very new TT(A) by a very ancient T2A) at - I think - Barbon UAX?

[ms660]

Hello there, if it's any use most of the old 'phone directories are available at Ancestry.co.uk they are viewable by subscription, I have a full subscription should you wish for any look ups.

Lawrence.

[OscarFoxtrot]

Originally Posted by KW2000A

Trying to avoid thread drift BUT...was it not the case that at least the first digits had to be <tap dialled> by moving the switchhooks at a rate which simulated the dial pulses?

I wouldn't think the line could distinguish between tap dial and dial dial.

The exception would possibly be from Coin Collecting Boxes.

[Patrick Dixon]

The one in my phone is for Kettering, Northants dated October 1965. Not too far away, but not really what you're after I'm afraid.

[Pellseinydd]

The local dialling codes were included in the local telephone directory until about 1955. After that they were printed on a card which was 'local' to each exchange (unless the exchanges were in a 'linked numbering scheme' where they all dialled the same codes). These cards were supplied and updated ones sent out until the exchange went over to Subscriber Trunk Dialling when they were replaced by an STD Codebook - again individual to that exchange. STD code books survived until around 1982/4 when the codes were moved back to the telephone directory for the area. As the directories on ancestry.co.uk go up to 1984, there is a chance that you may find your codes in the directory. However the last Stoke-on-Trent one on Ancestry is 1982 and doesn't include any codes.

I have quite a large database of local codes that I'm building up from various sources - old dialling code cards, phone books and old STD codebooks. I use this as I set up the dialling codes for people joining CNet, the replica of the old GPO telephone network as it was 30 to 50 years ago, where we can still dial these old local dialling codes between nearby 'exchanges'.

www.ckts.info/192/uk

Not got much on SoT other than there was no code between SoT and Newcastle.

The rest of the local exchanges were in an adjacent charge group with its own STD code 0781 X or 0781 XX but would have had a local code from SoT/Newcastle. The exception was Standon Rock which was 70 from Stoke on Trent but had the STD code 0782 70.
These were the exchanges in the 0781 STD code area with their codes from SoT/Newcastle
730 Ash Bank
733 Wetley Rocks
735 Swynnerton
736 Audley
738 Whitmore
739 Barlaston
76 Kidsgrove
77 Biddulph
78 Blythe Bridge

All those exchanges as they were converted to 6 digits were moved into the 0782 code and had no code from SoT/Newcastle.

Other adjacent charge groups would have started with a 9 i.e. Stafford (0785) would have been 9X with but still charged as a local call. Exchanges parented on Stafford would have dialled 9X followed by the one or two digit local code from Stafford. 'Daisy-chaining' of codes that began with a '9' was usually barred as were codes beginning with a '9' after the STD code i.e. you couldn't dial '0782 92 2345...' - to prevent charging fraud. But that takes us onto another tack so I'll leave it for another day.

The code for the Speaking Clock would have been 952 changing to 80 then 8081. Prior to STD the 'service' codes were in the 9X range i.e. 92 for Directory Enquiries changing to 19X when STD came in. Likewise the Operator moved from '0' to '100 as STD came in.

Hope that helps.

[paulsherwin]

Originally Posted by Pellseinydd

Not got much on SoT other than there was no code between SoT and Newcastle.

Stoke and Newcastle were operated as a single exchange group from the early days of automatic exchanges. They are in practice a single conurbation and it's only an historical accident that they have separate political identities. I think numbers starting with 6 are Newcastle numbers.

[Pellseinydd]

I realise that ! They have been since both Stoke and Newcastle went automatic on 26th November 1927, Stoke having 685 lines with 1130 telephones on the3m whilst Newcastle hadonly 559 lines with 803 phones on them. Stoke was the Main exchange with Newcastle working as a satellite off it. By 1947 there were seven exchanges in the Linked Numbering Scheme with satellite exchanges known to the GPO as 'Stoke on Trent', with two more satellites known as 'Burslem' and 'City' but using 'Stoke-on-Trent' as far as subscribers were concerned. Then there was 'Newcastle' plus another known as 'Chesterton' but whose subscribers had 'Newcastle ' numbers in the directory. Then there were also Longton, and Trentham who used there own exchange names. By this time there were 9879 lines in the LNS with 16364 phones on them. 21 years later in 1968 the exchanges in the LNS were Trinty (The main exchange ) with satellites at Burslem, City, Dimsdale, Longton, Miltonlee
Newcastle and Trentham. They were all known as Stoke except for Newcastle and Dimsdale which used the name 'Newcastle, Staff' for directory purpose. This would be about the time that the last dialling code cards were produced for the old bakelite 200/300 type phones as STD had arrived in mid 1966.

I have all details of all GPO exchanges from mid1920's through to mid1980 with details of numbers of lines, types of equipment etc - the virtually complete set of the GPO's 'Annual List of Exchanges' - takes up four foot of shelf space and runs to 80+ volumes.

[dseymo1]

The code for the Speaking Clock would have been 952 changing to 80 then 8081

Am I dreaming, or do I remember dialing TIM[E] (846) for the speaking clock?

[paulsherwin]

The different satellites were identified by the first digit of the subscriber number. Burslem was 8, and Hanley (presumably 'City') was 2. I think Stoke was 4 and Longton 5.

[Jim_746]

Originally Posted by dseymo1

Am I dreaming, or do I remember dialing TIM[E] (846) for the speaking clock?

I think I am right in saying that it TIM was dialled if you was in a director area.

[Pellseinydd]

A few more local dialling codes from Stoke-on-Trent/Newcastle -
922 Leek
9231 Churnet Side
9232 Ipstones until 1975 (9271 from /77 onwards)
9233 Rudyard
9234 Blackshaw
924 Cheadle
925 Tean
926 Waterhouses
927 Oakamoor
928 Onecote

[frankyman]

Read AJS's post with interest as I'm restoring a K6 Jubilee Kiosk and would like to have the old codes for the Etwall area (pre-digital/STD). Have managed (with the help of AJS's post and other sources) to reconstruct most of the old codes but am missing a couple of vital ones. Does anyone know the old code (from Etwall/Burton area) for Tamworth, Uttoxeter and possibly Lichfield, although I can't remember if Lichfield was a local call or not.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Frankyman