Timeline of telephone companies in Birmingham, England
Encyclopedia
This article shows the development timeline of telephone companies in Birmingham
, England.
Exchange names are in italics.
Following the granting of a patent to Alexander Graham Bell
in 1876, and the creation of the Bell Telephone Company
, USA:
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England.
Exchange names are in italics.
Following the granting of a patent to Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
in 1876, and the creation of the Bell Telephone Company
Bell Telephone Company
The Bell Telephone Company, a common law joint stock company, was organized in Boston, Massachusetts on July 9, 1877 by Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who also helped organize a sister company — the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company...
, USA:
- The Telephone Company Ltd (Bell's Patents) registered 14 June 1878, London. Opened in London 21 August 1879 - Europe's first telephone exchangeTelephone exchangeIn the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
- The Edison Telephone Company of London Ltd, registered 2 August 1879. Opened in London 6 September 1879.
- Henry J T Piercy of Broad Street Engine Works, Birmingham, 1879, independently created a service at Exchange Chambers (the old Iron and Steel Exchange), on the corner of New StreetNew Street, BirminghamNew Street is a street in central Birmingham, England . It is one of the city's principal thoroughfares and shopping streets. Named after it is Birmingham New Street Station, although that does not have an entrance on New Street except through the Pallasades Shopping Centre.-History:New Street is...
and Stephenson Place, (built 1865, demolished 1965, new building is HSBC bank), creating the Midland Telephone Exchange Company- becoming Birmingham Central Exchange June 1880
- WolverhamptonWolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
1880 - Jewellery QuarterJewellery QuarterThe Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham City Centre, England, situated in the south of the Hockley area. It is covered by the Ladywood district. There is a population of around 3,000 people in a area....
1880, 26 Frederick Street (Jewellers Exchange) - AstonAstonAston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
Exchange - SmethwickSmethwickSmethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....
Exchange
- United Telephone Company formed from The Telephone Company Ltd (Bell's Patents) and The Edison Telephone Company of London, 1880
- Provincial Telephone Company formed, 17 February 1881
- Provincial takes over Midland
- National Telephone Company (NTC) set up 10 March
- WalsallWalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
Exchange, 1881
- Walsall
- Exchange Chambers exchange moved to 40 Bennetts Hill/Colmore Row 1882-1897
- Provincial transferred to National Telephone Company 1883
- Provincial dissolved 18 September 1884
- EdgbastonEdgbastonEdgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
, MoseleyMoseleyMoseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, two miles south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants...
, West BromwichWest BromwichWest Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
1886
- Edgbaston
- New National Telephone CompanyNational Telephone CompanyThe National Telephone Company was a British telephone company from 1881 until 1911 which brought together smaller local companies in the early years of the telephone...
formed from the old NTC plus The United, the Lancashire, and the Cheshire Telephone Companies, 1889 - Trunk link Birmingham to CoventryCoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
1889 - Trunk link Birmingham to London 1890
- Birmingham Trunk Exchange, General Post Office (GPO), Pinfold Street, Victoria SquareVictoria Square, BirminghamVictoria Square is a pedestrianised public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House, and directly adjacent to Chamberlain Square....
, 4 May 1895 - National Telephone Company builds 19 Newhall Street17 & 19 Newhall Street, Birmingham17 & 19 Newhall Street is a red brick and Architectural terracotta Grade I listed building on the corner of Newhall Street and Edmund Street in the city centre of Birmingham, England.- Overview :...
, an ornate red brick and terra cottaTerra cottaTerracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
building, replacing Bennetts Hill as Central exchange, 1896/7 - National sells trunk lines to GPO 6 February 1897
- National opens Midland Exchange 14 November 1908 at 60 Hill Street
- Jewellers exchange moved to 19 Newhall Street, 1909
- General Post Office (GPO) takes over National Telephone Company, 1 January 1912 (transferring 1,565 exchanges 9,000 employees, cost £12,515,264.)
- Telephone House, Newhall StreetNewhall StreetNewhall Street is a street located in Birmingham, England.Newhall Street stretches from Colmore Row in the city centre by St Phillip's Cathedral in a north-westerly direction towards the Jewellery Quarter. Originally the road was the driveway to New Hall occupied by the Colmore family...
opened, 1936, Lionel Street/Newhall Street - Midland exchange closed 29 October 1961
- BT Tower, BirminghamBritish Telecom Tower (Birmingham)The BT Tower is a landmark in Birmingham, England, and is also the tallest building in the city. Its Post Office code was YBMR.-History:...
, built, 1967, close to Telephone House. - Hill Street closed 1971 and demolished 1972.
- Telephone House closed 20 November 1979. staff transferred to Brindley Telephone Exchange, across the road (computerised)
- British Telecom takes over from GPO, 1984
Source
- Hold the Line Please - The Story of the Hello Girls, Sally Southall, ISBN 1-85858-239-3
- A History of the Birmingham Telephone Area, Tupling, R. E., 1978