Telephones: early private telephones
Oxford's first telephones were installed in 1877, and in September 1879 the Edison Telephone Company gave notice in Jackson's Oxford Journal of its intention to open a telephone exchange in Oxford. It appears not to have had enough response to make the enterprise worthwhile, and in the event it was the South of England Telephone Company Ltd that opened Oxford's first exchange at 54 Cornmarket Street in 1886. This was taken over by the National Telephone Company in 1890, and in 1895 this moved to an upstairs room over the 'Domestic Bazaar' at 5 and 6 Magdalen Street..
In 1895 a second Exchange, the Post Office Trunk exchange, opened in Oxford, and in 1912 this took over the National Telephone Company.
A new main Oxford telephone exchange opened in Pembroke Street in 1923; Cowley and Headington exchanges in 1928; and Summertown in 1929.
In 1959 new exchanges at Oxford and Headington were opened. STD (Standard Trunk Dialling) services started in Oxford in 1963.
In 1889 there were 55 subscribers; ten years later this had doubled to 111. In 1924 there were 1,090 subscribers, and in 1934 1,987. By 1977 the number had risen to 11,520.
The 1895 Oxford Telephone Directory, reproduced below, lists two call offices (where people who had no telephone of their own could make calls at double the cost of a private line) and 96 subscribers. The latter included twelve colleges, the University Museum, the University Press, and the Examination Schools, as well as the Oxford Times, the Fire Station and the Police Station (which shared a number) and the following medical establishments: the Radcliffe Infirmary, the Eye Hospital, the Infectious Diseases Hospital, the Warneford Asylum, Drs Bevers, Brooks, Rice, Stark, and Turrell. Julius Sankey, M.R.C.S. had the prestigious telephone number Oxford 1.
1895
List of subscribers to the Oxford Exchange
1, NORTH PARADE: City Drapery Stores 54, CORNMARKET STREET: National Telephone Co., Ltd ALDEN, R.R., The Market ALDEN, R.R., Eastwick Farm ALLINGTON, Rev. E. H. ALL SOULS' COLLEGE (Porter's Lodge) ALL SOULS' COLLEGE (C. G. Robertson) AXTELL, Thos., 9a St. Aldates AXTELL, Thos., Edith Road, Grandpont BAKER, HILL & Co., 1, Broad Street BAKER, HILL & Co. (E. L. Birkbeck Hill), 59, St. Giles BAKER, HILL & Co., 9 & 10, George Street BALLIOL COLLEGE (Porter's Lodge) BATES, J. BEAUMONT, E., 10, 11, & 12, High Street BEAUMONT, E. (Call Office), 1, North Parade BEVERS, E. A., M.R.C.S., and L.S.A. Lond. BODLEIAN LIBRARY BROOKS, W. T., M.D. BUTLER, A., The Market BUTLER, A., 153, Cowley Road CAB STAND, St. Giles CANNAN, C. CARFAX COAL EXCHANGE CARTER, Messrs CITY DRAPERY STORES, 10, 11 & 12, High Street CITY DRAPERY STORES (Call Office), 1 North Parade CLARENDON BUILDINGS CLARENDON HOTEL CLARENDON PRESS CLARENDON PRESS (Horace Hart) CLARENDON PRESS (P. Lyttelton Gell) CLARENDON PRESS DEPOSITORY COMFORT, B. CO-OPERATIVE STORES COUSINS, Thomas & Co. DOWSON, H. M. DREW, A. J., F.R.C.S DRUCE, G. Claridge, M.A. ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY ELLISTON & CAVELL EXAMINATION SCHOOLS FIRE STATION FRANKLIN, W., Holywell Street FRANKLIN, W., Merton Street GELL, P. Lyttelton, Clarendon Press GELL, P. Lyttelton, Langley Lodge, Headington Hill GEORGE, Rev. H. B. GERRANS, H. T GILLETT & Co. GOOLD & SON GREEN, Captain, 25, Leckford Road GREEN, Captain, 5, High Street GRIMBLY, HUGHES &Co. G.W.R. GOODS STATION G.W.R. TOWN OFFICE, High Street HALL & Co. HART, Horace HEARN, J. W. HERTFORD COLLEGE (Porter's Lodge) HERTFORD COLLEGE (C. N. Jackson) HERTFORD COLLEGE (The Bursary) HILL, E.L. Birkbeck HITCHCOCK & Co. HUGGINS, B. S. & Sons INFECTIOUS DISEASES HOSPITAL JACKSON, C. N. JESUS COLLEGE (Porter's Lodge)* KEBLE COLLEGE (Porter's Lodge) LAMB & FLAG CAB OFFICE LION BREWERY L. & N.W. RAILWAY, Goods Station L. & N.W. RAILWAY, Town Office, Cornmarket Street MACLARAN, Mrs MANSFIELD COLLEGE MATHESON, P. E. MITRE HOTEL MORRELL'S TRUSTEES MULLINS, E. B. NAGEL, D. H. NATIONAL TELEPHONE Co. Ltd., 54, Cornmarket Street NATIONAL TELEPHONE Co. Ltd. (Call Office), 54, Cornmarket Street NEW EXAMINATION SCHOOLS NEW COLLEGE (Porter's Lodge) NEW COLLEGE (Senior Common Room) NEW COLLEGE (Junior Common Room) NEW COLLEGE (P. E. Matheson) NEW COLLEGE HOUSE (Rev. H. B. George) ORIEL COLLEGE (Porter's Lodge) OXFORD DAIRY Co. OXFORD ELECTRIC Co. OXFORD EYE HOSPITAL OXFORD MAGAZINE OFFICE, Clarendon Press "OXFORD TIMES" PUBLISHING OFFICE, New Road "OXFORD TIMES" PRINTING OFFICE, George Street PELHAM, H. F. POLICE STATION POST OFFICE PRESTON, A. RADCLIFFE CAMERA RADCLIFFE INFIRMARY RANDOLPH HOTEL RHODES, J. RICE, E., M.D. RIPPON, G. ROBERTSON, C. G. SANFORD-BURTON, H., F.L.S., &c. SANKEY, Julius O., M.R.C.S., &c. SAUNDERS & Co., G.W.R. Goods Station SAUNDERS & Co., G.W.R. Town Office, High Street SIDGWICK, A. SOMERVILLE HALL STARK, J. M., M.D. ST EDWARD'S SCHOOL ST JOHN'S COLLEGE (Porter's Lodge SWAN BREWERY SYMONDS, Horatio P. TRINITY COLLEGE (Porter's Lodge) TRINITY COLLEGE (C. Cannan) TRINITY COLLEGE (D. H. Nagel) TURNER Bros. TURRELL, W. J., M.D. TYLOR, Dr E. B. UNION SOCIETY UNIVERSITY GAZETTE OFFICE (Clarendon Press) UNIVERSITY MUSEUM UNIVERSITY MUSEUM (The Keeper's House) UNIVERSITY SCHOOLS UNIVERSITY PRESS WALFORD & SPOKES WARNEFORD ASYLUM WINKFIELD, A. WORCESTER COLLEGE
* The Telephone Company had installed this telephone in Jesus College in 1894. Permission was given "on the understanding that the Company acquire no rights and the College incur no liability thereby".
For further information, see R. A. J. Earl, The Development of the Telephone in Oxford, 1877–1977 (The Post Office, 1978)