A call back in time as old phones unearthed

Simon Spark
BBC News
James Hoggarth
BBC News
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  1. Three telephones from the early 20th century. Two are coloured black and have handsets resting on top of tall, rectangular boxes. The third has a metallic handset resting on a black box with an ornate crest of arms featuring the three crowns of the Hull council.

    The KCOM collection tells the story of Hull's 120-year-old telephone network

Rescued and dusted off from garages and warehouses, this collection of phones is unlike any other.

It recalls the 120-year history of a unique telephone network in Hull – the only locally owned system to maintain its independence from the national operator that became BT.

Known for its distinctive cream phone boxes, Kingston Communications – now KCOM – was wholly owned by the city council until 1999 when it was floated on the stock exchange.

The collection includes phone directories dating back to 1914 and records that played bedtime stories to callers.

"I think we’re unique," said Tim Shaw, KCOM's chief executive. "We go back to when the business was founded in 1904, from a telephone department in the council.

"All the other councils that had a telephone department merged to become what today is BT.

"The small business that has the coverage we have, and the responsibility we have, doesn’t really exist anymore."

Mr Shaw says the collection tells the story of KCOM over time, from the early days of telephones to superfast broadband

The Hull Municipal Corporation Telephone Department was founded on 28 November 1904. Initially, it was based in a former swimming baths.

In 1911, Parliament nationalised the telephone companies, but the Hull network avoided being absorbed by the new UK-wide operator.

The collection of historical phones, technology and directories, which has been compiled to mark the 120th anniversary of KCOM, includes the old exchanges used by operators to connect calls, along with their worn-out headsets.

Then there are the telephones themselves. One of the most prized devices is the "Eiffel Tower", which resembles the Parisian landmark and is now worth about £2,000.

Another unusual exhibit looks like a bird’s nest of shredded paper, but is actually old copper cable used to connect a customer's phone to the network.

These days the old cables are being replaced by fibre networks fit for the 21st Century – the first step in the next 120 years of history.

The collection is not on display to the public at present, but KCOM is exploring ways to make it more accessible in the future.

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