London Director system exchange names

London Director Exchange Names

A list of all the telephone exchanges in the London (England) Director system circa 1968.

Index

	Old		Numerical equivalent of the first three letters of the exchange name
New			Digits which replaced the exchange names

New	Old		Name	Area served	Local justification for name

222	222		ABBey	Westminster	Westminster Abbey
992	220		ACOrn	Acton	Acorn Gardens
654	233		ADDiscombe	Addiscombe and South Norwood	-
980	238		ADVance	Bow and Mile End
476	252		ALBert Dock	Plaistow and Canning Town	Albert Dock
998	257		ALPerton	Perivale, Alperton and North Ealing	-
262	262		AMBassador	Paddington	some embassies
985	264		AMHerst	Hackney	Amhurst Road
272	272		ARChway	Holloway	road viaduct
904	276		ARNold	North Wembley
568	285		ATLas	Isleworth
283	283		AVEnue	City of London	Throgmorton Avenue

672	225	§	BALham	Tooting	area served
449	227		BARnet	Barnet	-
228	228		BATtersea	Battersea	-
229	229		BAYswater	Bayswater	-
650	232	§	BECkenham	Beckenham	-
235	235	§	BELgravia	Belgravia	-
237	237		BERmondsey	Bermondsey	-
303	239		BEXleyheath	Bexleyheath	-
247	247		BIShopsgate	City of London	street of this name
656	258		BLUebell	Addiscombe and South Norwood
888	209		BOWes Park	Wood Green	area served
274	274		BRIxton	Brixton	-
278	278		BRUnswick	King's Cross
504	282		BUCkhurst	Woodford and Buckhurst Hill	-
950	287		BUShey Heath	Bushey Heath	-
422	297		BYRon	South Harrow
668	299		BYWood	Purley and Kenley	several woods

226	226		CANonbury	Highbury	area served
236	236	§	CENtral	City of London	Central Markets
242	242		CHAncery	Holborn	Chancery Lane
540	243		CHErrywood	Merton and South Wimbledon	Cherry Wood (Shaldon Drive)
994	244		CHIswick	Chiswick	-
248	248	§	CITy	City of London	-
253	253		CLErkenwell	Clerkenwell	-
254	254		CLIssold	Dalston	Clissold Park
552	250		CLOcktower	East Ham
205	205	§	COLindale	Colindale	-
864	206		CONcord	South Harrow
949	200		COOmbe End	New Malden	area served
520	207		COPpermill	Walthamstow	Coppermill Lane
240	208		COVent Garden	Covent Garden	-
550	273		CREscent	Barkingside and Redbridge
688	270		CROydon	Croydon	-
659	279		CRYstal Palace	Sydenham and Penge	exchg. is in Crystal Palace Park Road
286	286		CUNningham	Maida Vale

304	326		DANson Park	Bexleyheath	Danson Park
337	337		DERwent	Worcester Park
359	342		DICkens	Highbury
903	345		DILigence	Wembley
450	305		DOLlis Hill	Cricklewood and Dollis Hill	-
592	306		DOMinion	Dagenham
373	373	f	DREadnought	Earls Court
908	378		DRUMmond	North Wembley
204	379		DRYden	Kingsbury
385	385	f	DUKe	Fulham
690	386		DUNcan	Catford

567	325		EALing	Ealing	-
987	327		EASt	Poplar	'East End' of London
952	334	§	EDGware	Edgware	-
807	336	§	EDMonton	Edmonton	-
965	354		ELGar	Harlesden	Elgar Avenue (off Mitchellbrook Way), NW10
399	356		ELMbridge	Surbiton	Elmbridge Avenue
953	357		ELStree	Elstree	-
850	358		ELTham	Eltham	-
398	362		EMBerbrook	Thames Ditton
603	367		EMPress	West Kensington
363	363		ENField	Enfield	-
368	368		ENTerprise	Southgate
387	387		EUSton	Euston	-
393	393		EWEll	Ewell	-

644	324	§	FAIrlands	Sutton and Cheam
890	335	§	FELtham	Feltham and East Bedfont	-
868	343		FIEld End	Pinner and Eastcote
346	346		FINchley	Finchley	-
348	348		FITzroy	Hornsey and Highgate
352	352		FLAxman	Chelsea
353	353	§	FLEet Street	Fleet Street	-
878	350		FLOral	Mortlake
300	300		FOOts Cray	Sidcup	area served
699	307		FORest Hill	Forest Hill	-
677	308		FOUntain	Streatham
882	309		FOX Lane	Palmers Green
669	372	m	FRAnklin	Wallington and Carshalton
373	373	f	FREmantle	Earls Court
370	370		FRObisher	Earls Court
385	385	f	FULham	Fulham	-

330	425		GALleon	Worcester Park
579	430		GEOrgian	Ealing
437	437		GERrard	Soho	Gerrard Street
789	442		GIBbon	Putney	Edward Gibbon (decline and Fall …)
670	447		GIPsy Hill	Gipsy Hill and West Norwood	-
452	452		GLAdstone	Cricklewood and Dollis Hill
599	400		GOOdmayes	Seven Kings and Goodmayes	-
472	472		GRAngewood	East Ham
858	473		GREenwich	Greenwich	-
954	474		GRImsdyke	Stanmore
499	470		GROsvenor	Mayfair	Grosvenor Square
485	485		GULliver	Kentish Town

440	423		HADley Green	Barnet	area served
500	424		HAInault	Hainault	-
435	426		HAMpstead	Hampstead	-
427	427		HARrow	Harrow	-
428	428		HATch End	Hatch End	-
573	429	§	HAYes	Hayes [Middlesex] and Cranford	-
432	432	g	HEAdquarters	City of London	GPO Headquarters
202	436		HENdon	Hendon	-
444	444		HIGhgate Wood	Muswell Hill	area served
445	445		HILlside	North Finchley
698	448	§	HITher Green	Catford and Bellingham	area served
749	404		HOGarth	Shepherds Bush
405	405		HOLborn	Holborn	-
407	407		HOP	Southwark	several hop merchants
570	408		HOUnslow	Hounslow and Heston	-
804	409		HOWard	Ponders End
572	483		HUDson	Hounslow and Heston
486	486		HUNter	St Marylebone
462	487		HURstway	Hayes, Kent	Hurstfield, Hurstdene Avenue or Hurst Close
493	493		HYDe Park	Mayfair	Hyde Park

478	453		ILFord	Ilford	-
467	467		IMPerial	Chislehurst and Bickley	Louis Napoleon
560	475		ISLeworth	Isleworth and Brentford	-
505	482		IVAnhoe	Woodford and Buckhurst Hill
394	489		IVYdale	Ewell

586	586		JUNiper	St.Johns Wood

366	532		KEAts	Enfield
673	535		KELvin	Balham
589	536		KENsington	South Kensington	-
328	545		KILburn	Kilburn and Maida Vale	-
546	546		KINgston	Kingston	-
857	547	§	KIPling	Mottingham and Grove Park
584	564		KNIghtsbridge	South Kensington	Knightsbridge

360	522	§	LABurnum	Winchmore Hill
969	523		LADbroke	Kensal Green	Ladbroke Grove
947	525		LAKeside	Wimbledon	Lake in Wimbledon Park
580	526		LANgham	Bloomsbury	Langham Place
527	527		LARkswood	Highams Park	Larks Wood
802	528		LATimer	Stamford Hill
852	533		LEE Green	Lewisham	area served
539	539	§	LEYtonstone	Leytonstone	-
542	542		LIBerty	Merton and South Wimbledon
653	548	§	LIVingstone	Norwood	Livingstone Road
588	506		LONdon Wall	City of London (Moorgate)	London Wall
289	507		LORds	Lords and Maida Vale	Lords Cricket Ground
508	508		LOUghton	Loughton	-
397	509		LOWer Hook	Chessington	area served
432	577	g	LPR	City of London	London Postal region
587	587	g	LTR (RHQ)	Vauxhall	London Telephones Region
583	583	§	LUDgate Circus	Fleet Street	Ludgate Circus
593	593	x	LXD	Dagenham ?

622	622		MACaulay	Nine Elms
624	624		MAIda Vale	Lords (Kilburn, Maida Vale and South Hampstead)	-
942	625		MALden	New Malden	-
626	626		MANsion House	City of London (Monument)	Mansion House (building)
534	627		MARyland	Stratford and Forest Gate	Tube Station, etc.
629	629		MAYfair	Mayfair	-
458	632		MEAdway	Golders Green
643	635		MELville	Sutton and Belmont
638	638	§	METroploitan	City of London (Monument)
959	645		MILl Hill	Mill Hill	-
623	646		MINcing Lane	City of London (Monument)	Mincing Lane
648	648		MITcham	Mitcham and Morden	-
979	605		MOLesey	East Molesey and Hampton	-
606	606		MONarch	City of London
600	600	§	MOOrgate	City of London	Moorgate
340	608		MOUntview	Hornsey and Highgate
889	685		MULberry	Wood Green
686	686		MUNicipal	Croydon	see note
636	687		MUSeum	Bloomsbury	British Museum

628	628		NATional	City of London (Moorgate)
639	639	§	NEW Cross	Peckham and New Cross	-
602	602		NOBle	West Kensington
607	607		NORth	Barnsbury	area is North of the City
848	683		NUFfield	Hayes and Cranford

723	723		PADdington	Paddington	-
886	725		PALmers Green	Palmers Green	-
727	727		PARk	Bayswater and Notting Hill	Hyde Park
732	732		PECkham Rye	Peckham and New Cross	-
997	737		PERivale	Perivale, Alperton and North Ealing	-
866	746		PINner	Pinner and Eastcote	-
855	758		PLUmstead	Woolwich and Plumstead	-
764	705	§	POLlards	Norbury	Pollards Hill
892	707	§	POPesgrove	Twickenham
722	774		PRImrose	St.Johns Wood	Primrose Hill
876	770		PROspect	Mortlake
788	788		PUTney	Putney	-

556	724		RAGlan	Leytonstone
460	728		RAVensbourne	Bromley	river Ravensbourne
733	733		REDpost	Brixton	Red Post Hill
734	734		REGent	Soho	Regent Street
735	735		RELiance	Kennington and Walworth (Vauxhall)
736	736		RENown	Fulham
940	742		RIChmond (Surrey)	Richmond (Surrey)	-
594	747		RIPpleway	Barking	Ripple Road
748	748		RIVerside	Hammersmith	beside the Thames
703	703		RODney	Camberwell and Walworth	Rodney Road
709	709	§	ROYal	City of London and Wapping	Royal Mint (building)

657	726		SANderstead	Sanderstead and Selsdon	-
720	720		SCOtt	Nine Elms
590	738		SEVen Kings	Seven Kings and Goodmayes	-
743	743		SHEpherds Bush	Shepherds Bush	-
739	740		SHOreditch	Shoreditch	-
529	745		SILverthorn	Chingford
759	759		SKYport	London Airport Heathrow and Harlington	-
730	750		SLOane	Sloane Square	-
530	762		SNAresbrook	Wanstead	area served
574	708		SOUthall	Southall	-
249	772		SPArtan	Dalston
455	773		SPEedwell	Golders Green
777	777		SPRingpark	West Wickham	Spring Park
800	782		STAmford Hill	Stamford Hill	-
790	783		STEpney Green	Stepney Green	-
958	780		STOnegrove	Edgware	Stonegrove (Watling Street)
769	787		STReatham	Streatham	-
799	785		SULlivan	Westminster
203	786		SUNnyhill	Hendon
794	794		SWIss Cottage	Hampstead	area served
778	793		SYDenham	Sydenham and Penge	-

822	822		TABard	Fleet Street	Tabard Inn (building)
828	828		TATe Gallery	Victoria	Tate Gallery
829	829	g	TCY	Waterloo	Telephones CitY
977	833		TEDdington Lock	Teddington	-
836	836		TEMple Bar	Covent Garden	Temple Bar (monument)
837	837		TERminus	Kings Cross	railway termini
684	840	§	THOrnton Heath	Thornton Heath	-
692	843		TIDeway	Deptford	Thames tideway
829	853	g x	TLD	Waterloo	Telephones London District
808	808		TOTtenham	Tottenham	-
693	809		TOWnley	Dulwich and Camberwell	Townley Road
839	872		TRAfalgar	Whitehall	Trafalgar Square
553	873	§	TREvelyan	Ilford
870	870		TROjan	Wandsworth
879	879	g	TSW	Wimbledon	Telephones South West
883	883		TUDor	Muswell Hill
674	885	§	TULse Hill	Tulse Hill and Brixton Hill	-
995	887		TURnham Green	Chiswick	Turnham Green
894	894		TWIckenham Green	Twickenham	-

863	863		UNDerhill	Harrow	under Harrow-on-the-Hill
660	875		UPLands	Purley and Kenley	high ground
806	877		UPPer Clapton	Clapton	-

554	825		VALentine	Ilford	Valentine Public House, 27 Perth Road
874	826		VANdyke	Wandsworth
834	842		VICtoria	Victoria	-
642	844		VIGilant	Sutton and Belmont	don't know - see note
845	845		VIKing	Northolt and Yeading	Viking Primary School, Radcliffe Way
349	847		VIRginia	Finchley

647	925	m	WALlington	Wallington and Carshalton	-
989	926		WANstead	Wanstead	-
302	927		WARing Park	Sidcup	Waring Park
928	928		WATerloo	Waterloo	-
578	929		WAXlow	Greenford	Waxlow Crescent
935	935		WELbeck	St Marylebone	Welbeck Street
902	936		WEMbley	Wembley	-
937	937		WEStern	Kensington	Western part of central London
930	944		WHItehall	Westminster	Whitehall
464	943		WIDmore	Bromley	Widmore Road
459	945		WILlesden	Willesden	-
946	946		WIMbledon	Wimbledon	-
854	900		WOOlwich	Woolwich and Plumstead	-
907	907	§	WORdsworth	Kenton
	524	v	LAGoon	Surbiton	Surbiton Lagoon
	339	v	EDWard	Kingston


				Notes

			Except where noted, all the above are taken from the booklet: "Dialling Instructions and Call charges London 1968" Dd. 35/438939 1/68 (LDCB68)
			Entries in the 'Area served' column are from telephone directories of the period

		§	"Some subscribers on these exchanges were given a new telephone number or had their exchange name replaced by figures other than those shown above when they were given their all-figure number." LDCB68
		f	DREadnought and FREmantle both map on to 373. Both names were published - why? Likewise DUKe and FULham.
		g	DDI to GPO PABX's. LPR mapped on to HEAdquarters and TLD mapped on to TCY.
		m	In LDCB68 FRAnklin and WALlington are listed in the Local Calls section (ie. codes for adjacent non-director exchanges) rather than in the Director section. This is probably because it was the last manual exchange in London.
		x	LXD and TLD are not listed in LDCB68 but have been seen elsewhere.
686	686		MUNicipal	The main phone number for the London Borough of Croydon offices was (and still is) MUNicipal 4433. But this doesn't really justify the choice of name.

			Exchange names had quite a wide influence: One or two of the 'Area served' entries are affected. For example, if LORds exchange had been called something different, the GPO would have described the area served as 'Maida Vale and St. John's Wood'. The cricket ground has not really given its name to the area. Non-geographic exchange names - such as GALleon and GULliver - often gave their names to local shops. A quick directory enquiry on half a dozen exchange names in 1999 threw up just one example: The Vigilant Off-Licence, 6 Regent Parade, Sutton - still with a phone number on Vigilant exchange. Some of the things I have put down as justification for name may in fact be derivations from the exchange name. I suspect that Elgar Avenue was built after Elgar exchange got its name and that the exchange may in fact have had an influence on the name of the Avenue.

Comments, corrections and suggestions to fill in the blanks in the 'Local justification for name' column will be gratefully received by:

Index

Roger W. Haworth

2005 Aug 02
1999 Dec 08 First version