Hull’s Unique Telephone Network History Highlighted by Historic Collection

A distinctive assortment of telephones, recovered and cleaned from various storage locations, stands out as unique. This collection chronicles the 120-year legacy of a singular telephone network in Hull, notable as the sole locally owned system to retain autonomy from the national operator, which later became BT. Kingston Communications, presently known as KCOM, recognized for its characteristic cream phone boxes, remained entirely under the ownership of the city council until 1999, when it was introduced to the stock market. Among the items in the collection are telephone directories from 1914 and recordings that delivered bedtime stories to subscribers. Tim Shaw, KCOM’s chief executive, stated, “I think we’re unique.” He added, “We go back to when the business was founded in 1904, from a telephone department in the council.” Shaw further explained that “All the other councils that had a telephone department merged to become what today is BT.” He concluded by noting, “The small business that has the coverage we have, and the responsibility we have, doesn’t really exist anymore.” The Hull Municipal Corporation Telephone Department commenced operations on 28 November 1904. Its initial premises were located in a building that previously served as swimming baths. Despite Parliament’s nationalization of telephone companies in 1911, the Hull network successfully evaded integration into the newly established UK-wide operator. This compilation of historic telephones, technological artifacts, and directories, assembled to commemorate KCOM’s 120th anniversary, features the vintage exchanges utilized by operators for connecting calls, complete with their well-used headsets. Additionally, the collection showcases various telephones. A highly valued item is the “Eiffel Tower” device, which mirrors the famous Parisian structure and currently holds an approximate value of £2,000. Another distinctive display piece appears to be a tangled mass of shredded paper, yet it is, in fact, aged copper cable previously employed to link a customer’s telephone to the network. Currently, the legacy copper cables are being superseded by fiber optic networks, designed for the demands of the 21st Century, marking the initial phase of the next 120 years of the company’s history. The collection is not presently available for public viewing, but KCOM is investigating methods to enhance its future accessibility. Listen to notable content from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, view the most recent installment of Look North, or inform us of a story you believe merits coverage here. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available for review.