I did give them a quick google but didn't think to check that. Well that would imply it was installed in '62/63 then!
Totally OTT (well, it is the weekend ) but I can beat that 'in spades'. From my Great-Grandfather's letterhead, indicating the phone numbers of the two branches of his business (around 1900) ...Notice the 5 digit phone number on the sticker ...
Oh yes - I very much doubt that phones had dials in those days. I'm a little intrigued by the "Y" in the Hayling number - anyone know what its significance might have been?Back in the days when you had to ask the operator to connect you to that number? And (s)he had to physically connect you? haha
The majority of houses in my village still effectively have the original 3-digit phone numbers - at some point "730" was put in front of all of them to turn them into 6-digit ones.yes, that's where I am near, most of my family have 5 digit numbers.
I'm a little intrigued by the "Y" in the Hayling number - anyone know what its significance might have been?
Given that there are only about 300 houses in the village, I'm not sure how they 'exhausted' the 999 potential numbers using that system but, for some reason,
Ah, that probably explains it. Thanks.There aren't 999 potential usable numbers. ... That actually leaves about 500 numbers available on a 3-digit exchange.
Many villages in the past were served by a UAX (Unit Automatic Exchange) with a 3-digit numbering scheme, and a lot were converted to TXE2 (Telephone eXchange Electronic) from the 1970's onward, getting 6-digit numbers in the process and being put on a linked numbering scheme with the nearby town and other similarly converted villages in the area (i.e. you no longer had to dial the local routing codes, just the appropriate 4-, 5- or 6-digit number). The existing xxx numbers becoming yy0xxx (zero as the new third digit) was a common pattern during such renumbering, although not an absolute indicator. After System X came along in the 1980's (and System Y, a.k.a. AXE10), some 3-digit UAX areas went straight to digital with a similar change to 6-digit numbers.The majority of houses in my village still effectively have the original 3-digit phone numbers - at some point "730" was put in front of all of them to turn them into 6-digit ones.
Given that there are only about 300 houses in the village, I'm not sure how they 'exhausted' the 999 potential numbers using that system but, for some reason, the exception to the above is that more recently allocated numbers have "738", rather than "730" at the start.
When it was a 3-digit exchange yes, but after conversion to 6-digit numbering, the whole range of 730xxx numbers would have become available for allocation, less a handful for things like engineering test numbers, telephones in the exchange itself, etc.There aren't 999 potential usable numbers. {.....}
That actually leaves about 500 numbers available on a 3-digit exchange.
There's still some 5 digit numbers in Devon! Cully i believe, still has some
Although the majority of smaller towns and villages outside of the larger urban areas (and Northern Ireland) are now on 6-digit numbers, there are still more places with 5-digit numbers around than many people seem to realize (U.K. web designers writing validation scripts for telephone numbers, please note well!).Yes, that's where I am near. Most of my family have 5 digit numbers.
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