Further information from Geoff Woodward added in November 2016 and February 2017
The first indication of telegraph and later telephone services in Harpenden came with the Government’s intention, in 1893, “to erect telegraph or telephone posts through the village” (as reported in The Hertfordshire Illustrated Review, 1893, see Newsletter 60, p.7, February 1993).
The pole route was constructed through Harpenden, much to the annoyance of residents, but poles were not allowed alongside the road across the Common: they were instead routed alongside the Midland Railway. The National Telephone Exchange and call office operated from until 1913 in a single storey building alongside The George and was used to summon fire brigades from St Albans and Luton for the Red House fire in 1894.
In 1900 planning permission for more poles between Harpenden and Luton was given. Phone services came to Harpenden in February 1901, with the first telephone exchange at Island Cottage in Leyton Road (behind Simons Grocers in the High Street, later no.34). Users in Harpenden were first connected by Mrs Rose Haynes via St Albans, and then via Luton to the National Telephone Company around 1902-3.
Early telephones had no dials, and the caller would wind a handle to alert the call office and give the number required. The operator would find the corresponding cable to plug into the system and send a signal to the number being called. There was considerable investment in telegraph poles and wires stretching over the town, with more poles erected along Luton Road in 1907 – though an application to erect poles in Station Road in 1906 was initially refused.
Harpenden subscribers were allocated numbers as they joined, and these numbers were retained until the 1920s or later, until new dialling systems required extra digits to be added to accommodate the rapidly increasing demand. Thus Rothamsted Experimental Station (The Lawes Trust) was initially Harpenden 21, but later became Harpenden 621, Harpenden 3621, Harpenden 63133. In 1989, it became 01582-763133, when 5 digit numbers had 7 added in front, and 4 digit numbers had 71 added in front. The national code was changed from 0582 to 01582 on 3 April 1995.
In 1912 the National Telephone Company was nationalised and taken over by the Post Office. A new exchange was opened at White Heather Cottage, 10 Leyton Road in 1913, but when the Post Office moved in 1928 to a larger new building at 9 Station Road, the telephone exchange was established on the first floor.
This exchange was expanded in March 1950 to 2,800 lines. In 1961 the exchange moved to Bowers Way and in 1968 Harpenden subscribers were transferred from the London Region to Bedford.
Kelly’s Directories began to include telephone numbers if householders or businesses supplied them, and the 1923 edition included a telephone directory. Numbers up to 100 indicate the names of the first subscribers in Harpenden, given in the following table:
Official and Commercial | |
4 | Herts County Police |
8 | Midland Railway |
11 | C Piggott, High St |
13 | British Furniture Ltd, and Harpenden Building Co |
14 | Field & sons, Hat Manufrs, Grove Road |
19 | Robert Harding, Auctioneer, Station Road |
20 | Barclays Bank |
21 | Lawes Trust, Rothamsted |
24 | T Dunckley, High St |
25 | National Children’s Home Sanatorium |
32 | Alfred Pratt & Co, Builders, Amenbury Lane |
33 | E Jarvis, Vaughan Road |
38 | Abbott, Andersen & Abbott, Heathfield Works |
42 | Harpenden Dairies |
49 | A Saunders, Wheathampstead Rd (Southdown) |
50 | Millwall Rubber Co, Grove Road |
55 | Anscombe & Sons |
59 | Palmer & Co, Willmotts Stores, High St |
60 | J Pestell, Outfitters, High St |
62 | Winter and Ward, Building Contr, High St |
65 | Great Northern Station |
78 | Herts Farmers Direct Supply, Station Road |
79 | Harpenden District Gas Co |
82 | Kennels, Herts Hunt, Kinsbourne Green |
86 | Associated Rubber Mfs, Amalgam Mills |
88 | Lockhart & Co, Midland Railway |
89 | George Hotel |
91 | Waverley Mills |
93 | Brentall and Cleland, Station Appr |
95 | Railway Hotel, (A Wright) |
99 | T Simons & Son, High St |
Private addresses | |
2 | E Hett, Wood End Farm |
3 | W Sneath, Park Avenue |
6 | John Kitchen, Holmfield, Milton Rd |
7 | J Bridgman, Tennyson Road |
9 | H Steers, Salisbury Ave |
12 | R Bricker, Hatching Green |
15 | T. Bonser, Longcroft Ave |
16 | L Heath, Annables |
17 | W Sibley, The Grove |
18 | Donald Wilkins, Tennyson Road |
22 | Geoffrey Paget, East Common |
23 | F Watson, The White House, High St |
26 | C Latter, Melford House, Longcroft Ave |
27 | Dr. F Cheese, The Elms |
28 | Henry Salisbury, 1 Arden Grove |
29 | Hugh Fraser, Westlands, Milton Rd |
30 | Austin Reed, Shenstone Lodge, Kirkwick Ave |
31 | W Smallbone, Arden Grove |
34 | E Gurney, Lynwood, Ave St Nicholas |
35 | H Newson Davis, Bamville Wood |
36 | W Seabrook, Vaughan Road |
39 | Rev Hodgson Smith, Kirkwick Ave |
40 | A Merrett, Hollybush Lane |
43 | C Clay, Moreton Ave |
45 | T Rolt, Heath Road |
46 | Mrs J. Oakeshott, Chelsfield, Rothamsted Ave |
47 | H Trewman, Firdale, Rosebery Ave |
48 | Archibald Blake, Craigie Lea, Milton Rd |
51 | R Combe, Hollybush Corner |
52 | Edwin Nott, Milton Road |
56 | Arthur Garland, East Moor House |
57 | C Howland, Moreton Ave |
58 | Mrs Bonnett, St Mary’s, Milton Rd |
61 | John Miller, St Martin’s Lodge, Salisbury Ave |
63 | W Parnell, Gorselands |
64 | C Warren, Tennyson Rd |
66 | Dr T Kelynack, Homecot, West Common |
67 | M Fairer, Townsend Road |
68 | Major Baynes, Kinsbourne Green |
69 | G Lowthian, Milton Road |
70 | P le Mare, West Common |
71 | G Washington Gray, Bencleugh, Rosebery Ave |
72 | Mrs A Wootton, West Common |
73 | Robert Hogg, Red Gables |
74 | Arthur Taylor, Rothamsted Lodge |
75 | B Laporte, The Bungalow, Southdown Rd |
76 | Charles Wren, the Sycamores, Leyton Rd |
77 | J Darnton, Mackerye End |
80 | E. Browne, Longcroft Ave |
81 | W le Maistre, Rothamsted Ave |
83 | F Darby, Rothamsted Ave |
84 | F Higgins, Furzedown, Milton Rd |
85 | John Fouldes, Chepstow, Douglas Rd |
90 | R Sampson, Church Green |
92 | W Pratt, Field House, Townsend Rd |
94 | Henry Peacock, Hollybush Lane |
96 | A Willmott, Vaughan Road |
97 | Wilfred Brown, Hillcroft, Douglas Rd |
98 | H Blundell, Hestercombe, Carlton Rd |
100 | F. Pearce, Upper Crabtree Lane |
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