IAN123. 9,325 Posted January 20, 2018 Report Share Posted January 20, 2018 Reading Rob's post on Maid Marian Way made me wonder how many GPO/Telecom/PO buildings were scattered about the city? I knew of Bath St,Broad St,Thurland St,..and learnt yesterday... the top of St.James's St. Anymore information? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob.L 1,090 Posted January 20, 2018 Report Share Posted January 20, 2018 In the 70s and 80s, and just off the top of my head the offices were: Walton House, St James Street (whole building - 11 floors) Market Square House, St James Street (1 floor) Newlands House, Mount Street (1 floor) 47 Upper Parliament Street (above the Post Office, 4 floors) There was also the Phoneshop and another office in the building on the opposite corner of the top end of St James St. As well, there were the exchanges, including Castle exchange on Broad Street, Crusader exchange on Thurland Street, Archer at the bottom of Huntingdon Street, and Bowman on Bath Street, as well as a lot more out of town, and the TECs (Telecoms Engineering Centres) on Arnold Road, Marmion Road, and Gregory Street. Directory Enquiries were also for a while located in an office block on Barker Gate, until they moved into the Bowman building, and later into Castle Wharf. The vast majority have now gone, with, as far as I know, only Bowman and Arnold Road remaining, as new technology took over, jobs were moved away from Nottingham, or people started working from home. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob.L 1,090 Posted January 20, 2018 Report Share Posted January 20, 2018 What used to be Gregory Street TEC is now Mellors & Kirk Auctioneers. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,466 Posted January 20, 2018 Report Share Posted January 20, 2018 Lincoln Street looking towards George Street, including a BT van (the exchange is behind the van). Those old houses are still there. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IAN123. 9,325 Posted January 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2018 Aah! yes,recall that building... had a 'Georgian' look about it, commer van also.. thanks Cliff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob.L 1,090 Posted January 20, 2018 Report Share Posted January 20, 2018 Those were Framework knitters cottages. You can tell from all the windows on the top storey. As for Castle exchange, not a place I enjoyed working in. Poky, dark, and cold. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted January 21, 2018 Report Share Posted January 21, 2018 Extending out of the city, there was a large exchange on Portland Road, Hucknall. I can't place it on Google maps but I think it was just down from Woodstock Street, on the same side. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Willow wilson 894 Posted January 21, 2018 Report Share Posted January 21, 2018 Next door to Sandicliffes, behind trees. Looks the type of building. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted January 21, 2018 Report Share Posted January 21, 2018 You may well be right. Not quite as I remember it though. My memory of the place was that it was quite close to the road and taller. Switch rooms on the ground floor and the exchange part above them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trogg 2,016 Posted January 21, 2018 Report Share Posted January 21, 2018 Jonab you are correct the building is still there and still used for the same purpose , having lived in Hucknall over 50 years I am put into shame by your memories of Hucknall , it is only when you write of some of your memories that I have to rake the depths of my brain to recall them. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted January 21, 2018 Report Share Posted January 21, 2018 15 minutes ago, trogg said: having lived in Hucknall over 50 years I am put into shame by your memories of Hucknall 1 It's nearly 50 years since I left! Are you following the Hucknall High Street thread which I have resurrected? I would be interested in your comments on that. https://nottstalgia.com/forums/topic/7730-hucknall-high-street-60s70s/ Also Beardall St. School https://nottstalgia.com/forums/topic/16652-beardall-street-school-hucknall/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Definitively located the telephone exchange. It was directly opposite Lingford St. - where a different building is now but it looks like it may be a BT place. I well remember Lymns undertakers on the Lingford St. corner, it's certainly a lot posher than it was when I was there. In my time it was little more than a woodyard with some old bloke making coffins at the back. I used to buy timber from them for various projects I did when I was young. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
woody 552 Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 In those days it was not Lymns but was an undertaker. It was known as Bexons and was run by Geoff Ward whose son Graham is now an independent undertaker in Hucknall. I also used the timber side of the business for my diy projects. The telephone exchange is still there, you often see Openreach vans outside. Years ago there used to be a butchers shop next door but that is long gone and looks derelict. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I did get the name wrong - it was Bexons. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trogg 2,016 Posted February 6, 2018 Report Share Posted February 6, 2018 Jonab I had a look at the telephone exchange on Portland Road today and you may be correct on the building being different to how you remember it. The date on the building is 1958 so it depends on when you left Hucknall, I cannot tell from the road if it is a complete new building or just a new extension on the front, which could be the reason you thought it was further from the footpath. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 trogg, thanks for the info Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IAN123. 9,325 Posted February 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 Just a thought, I wonder how many people owned a telephone.. say in 1930? In the late 60's and early 70's not many of my mates had a phone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,134 Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 Our first ‘phone was when we moved to Park Rd. in Woodthorpe in the early sixties. I remember the number, 262824. It must have been similar to that of the Home Brewery because we regularly got calls asking if we were the Brewery. My stock answer was “I wish we were”! Where we now live, right up until the early 60’s, all calls went through the village post office so the postmistress was very well versed in everybody’s business! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 Never had a phone in the UK. In laws did, but not us. Never missed it. We got one within a day or two of getting an apartment in Canada. My first job meant being on call every other week or so. I was soon ready to throw the thing out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FLY2 10,108 Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 Ours in the 50's was 74640. Sad what sticks in ones head ! On a more technical note, and one for the 'experts', are the Nottingham exchanges and intermediate sub stations Strowger, Pentex or what ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LizzieM 9,507 Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 We didn’t have a phone until about 1970 and thank goodness we did, my social life had been stunted up until then. My Dad was still in that same house in Arnold until his death 5 years ago and still had the same telephone number. When I got married in 1975 we lived in a village in Oxfordshire and our phone number was Cropredy 296, yes for you music lovers, it was THAT Cropredy. I found a number of family entries in old phone directories on Ancestry.com several years ago, dating back to the 1930s, really interesting too as it enabled me to work out where my Dad had lived and when. 1931. 163 Rolleston Drive, Lenton. Nottm 44823 1933-37. 49 Toston Drive, Wollaton Park. Nottm 7425 1938. 5 Devonshire Promenade, Lenton. Nottm 7425 Grandad had a timber business (which went bust in the Recession) so suppose he needed a phone at a time when few people felt the need for one. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MargieH 7,600 Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 Our phone number in the fifties was 66634, then later on a prefix of 2 was added. I can still hear my mum's voice (in my head!) saying 'double six, six, three, four' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 Our number was 3420 with a dialling code 35 (Hucknall). I happened too often that people would use the Mansfield dialling code (dunno what that was) but our number with that dialling code then became the number for Rampton hospital. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 Interesting pre-fix, Margie. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IAN123. 9,325 Posted February 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 Dial that in Eire Dave..irish squad car arrives upside down! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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