Grayshott Village Archive

Grayshott and the Telephone

The first published list of Grayshott telephone numbers and subscribers was in the National Telephone Company directory of 1907. The Grayshott exchange was at the Post Office in Crossways Road where previously Flora Thompson had worked. The hours of business were 8am to 8pm on weekdays, and 8am to 10am on Sundays.

In this first telephone list there were 21 Grayshott subscribers. Numbers 13 and 22 were omitted but these were later taken up in 1908. Interestingly several of these original numbers still exist at the same premises today, albeit in modified form with prefixes, an example being Grayshott Pottery located at the former laundry, the present number being 604404; see below.

 

About 1930 the new telephone exchange was opened at Hindhead. Grayshott numbers were then transferred and became ‘Hindhead’ numbers. The Grayshott subscribers had by then reached 150. Various prefixes, e.g. 40, 4, 50 and 5 had been added to the numbers.

A more comprehensive list of numbers and subscribers up to 1930 will be made available on this web site in due course.

Richard Peskett
March 2010