WESTERN
COUNTIES AND SOUTH WALES TELEPHONE COMPANY Ltd
TELEPHONE DIRECTORY - MAY 1892
On January 1st 1892 the National
Telephone Company bought the 4,027 subscriber lines of the Western Counties and South
Wales Telephone Company for £277,607 13s 8d.
However, the telephone directory dated May 1892 was issued
in the name of the old Company. It listed exchanges or call offices within Devon at
Ashburton, Avonwick, Brixham, Buckfastleigh, Dartmouth, Dawlish, Devonport, Exeter,
Ivybridge, Mutley, Newton Abbot, Paignton, Plymouth, Plympton, Teignmouth and Torquay.
Calls were limited to three minutes' duration and from
Devonport, Mutley and Plymouth it cost 4d to call a number in Plympton, 9d to call Exeter
and 6d for everywhere else on the above list.
Within the Plymouth area the local exchanges were:
DEVONPORT was open day and night except
from 9am Sundays to 8am Mondays. The numbers were all in the 400 series. The public call
office was at George Baker, cab proprietor, 55A Albert Road (number 410).
MUTLEY was open day and night except
between 9am Sundays to 8am Mondays. All the numbers were in the 300 series. Public call
offices were at John Barge's chemists shop, 10 Belgrave Terrace (number 306); S Symons, 1
Albert Terrace, Laira (number 340) and at Mr F B Davey's shop, Crownhill (number 334).
PLYMOUTH main exchange was at Victoria
Chambers, 11 Whimple Street (number 1) and was open all day and night except between 9am
Sundays to 8am Mondays. Public call offices were at William Hearder's premises, 195 Union
Street, Plymouth (number 19); the Borough Arms Coffee Tavern, 35 Bedford Street (number
194); Plymouth Coffee House, 2 Barbican (number 195).
PLYMPTON was listed as open 8am to 8pm
Mondays to Saturdays only. The public call room was at John Skinner's grocery in Ridgway.
There was no exchange or call office at PLYMSTOCK.
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