Local Histories 2 |
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Colchester |
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50 Plus in COLCHESTER... |
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| 1949 | ||
| From the Essex County Standard Friday 12th March 1999
"It was revealed in March 1949 that 400 people were waiting for a telephone in Colchester and a further 3,500 in the Colchester area. The Telephone Manager told Rotarians that it would take 12 years for things to get back to normal as priority went to emergency users, businesses in export work and farmers. One idea to ease the situation was two subscribers sharing a line." [As if that would ever work!]
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The local history of Northampton is typical of most towns and cities with
its own 'firsts and lasts' and various amusing stories, all with telecom
connections. |
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| 100 YEARS AGO plus... | ||
| 1877 | ||
| The telephone was demonstrated for the first time in Northampton in December 1877, the year after it was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. Each night during the first week of the month, the demonstration took place at Northampton School of Science, which was on the site now occupied by the Cannon cinema. It was arranged by the head of the school Beeby Thompson, a pioneer in several scientific fields, and was mainly room-to-room communication. But on the Tuesday night, something quite ambitious had been laid on. Two operators in separate rooms at the Post Office spoke to each other over a wire which had been run out via Moulton and Brixworth, a total of 15 miles. The result, reported in the Northamptonshire Guardian, had been entirely satisfactory -"Conversation was easily kept up and laughing, whistling and singing could be heard with the utmost clearness over one of the most surprising inventions of modern times." | ||
| 1881 | ||
| The first telephone message over the first permanent line in
Northampton took the form of a Christmas carol...sung by a sightless violinist.
It was a November day in 1881. The line had been provided for the tannery
firm Ryumer & Shepard, between their works in Wood Street and their tannery
in Crane Street. There to supervise the historic call was G.R. Judkins,
Superintendent of Telegraphs and the first man to erect a telegraph pole
in England.
He addressed himself to T.L. Collindale, a member of the firm: "There you are sir. It's all connected now. Don't be afraid- you can speak into it now." Oddly enough, Mr Collindale seemed reluctant to enrol himself in the pages of Northampton history. Instead of speaking himself, he went into the street and called in one of Northampton's best-known characters of the day, a man named Bates but, better known as the Blind Fiddler. Bates chose to sing a Christmas carol. Judkins lived at 70 Kingsley Road, Northampton and for many mid-Victorian years he rode round the countryside in a horse and trap fitted with telegraphic apparatus so that he could tap into any roadside line to head office. His hobby was collecting tollgate tickets, of which he had amassed thousands. |
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| 1885 | ||
| The town's first telephone exchange was installed by the South of England Telephone Company in premises in Dychurch Lane rented from Mr Kingham in 1885. The Post Office took over the National Telephone Company, into which most others had been merged, on January 1st 1912. | ||
| 1891 | ||
| The Northampton Mercury reports on April 17th 1891...
The authorities at St Martin's-le-Grand declare themselves satisfied with
the results thus far of their telecommunication between London and Paris.
London and Paris may now be said to be absolutely "on speaking terms". The
average number of messages daily transmitted exceeds fifty, and further
development is naturally anticipated. Three minutes talk is allowed for eight
shillings [40p these days Ed]. A London stockbroker the other day
managed to transmit 300 words for his eight shillings- not a
dear three minutes, if the cost of submarine telegraphing is compared
with it. |
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