The twelve BT Telephone Exchanges (and four former) in the Newmarket (01638) telephone area
Telephones arrived in the Newmarket area at the end of the 19th century. For more than a decade, there were two exchanges operating in the town – one opened by the National Telephone Company in Kingston Passage, and a GPO exchange. At least one subscriber, the banker and racehorse breeder Leopold de Rothschild, had lines from both exchanges connected to his Newmarket home, Palace House. A single exchange was eventually established but it was destroyed when a Nazi bomb hit the post office in the High Street in 1941 (picture). A ‘temporary’ manual exchange was set up in the Jockey Club’s Subscription Rooms and it served the town for eight years before the automatic exchange was completed.
The full story of telecommunications in Newmarket can be found on the website of the Newmarket Local History Society.
Burwell ATE
Burwell telephone exchange is located in The Causeway, Burwell CB5 0DU and also serves Swaffham Prior.
It came into service as a TXE2 in 1971 when Burwell lines became Newmarket 74xxxx numbers.
The principal telephone code for this exchange is 01638-74.
Its former dialling code was 0638.
ID: EABWL. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.
Burwell former ATE
The former Burwell telephone exchange was located at 10 Ness Road, Burwell CB25 0AA. The first exchange here came into service as an RAX5 in about 1932, the area having previously been covered in part by the Fordham exchange. A UAX 13 came into service in 1949. It ceased operation in 1971 and is currently (2023) a chiropody practice.
Its dialling code was 063 874.
ID: EABWL. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.
Cheveley ATE
Cheveley telephone exchange is located in the High Street, Cheveley CB8 9DQ and also serves Ashley, Broad Green, Saxon Street, Kirtling and Woodditton. It came into service in April 1972 when Cheveley lines became Newmaket 730xxx numbers. It was converted to digital working on 25 June 1993.
The principal telephone code for this exchange is 01638-73.
Its former dialling code was 0638.
ID: EACHY. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.
Cheveley former ATE
The former Cheveley telephone exchange was located in the High Street, Cheveley CB8 9DG. It came into service as an RAX6 in late 1935 or early 1936, replacing a manual exchange opened in about 1911. Equipped with a UAX13 it closed in 1972.
Its dialling code was 063 873.
ID: EACHY. Photo courtesy of Rightmove.
Eriswell ATE
Eriswell telephone exchange is located in Brandon Road, RAF Lakenheath IP27 9RU and covers Eriswell and RAF Lakenheath. It came into service in 1966, taking lines from the Mildenhall exchange. It was converted to digital working in 1989.
The principal telephone codes for this exchange are 01638-52 and 01638-53.
Its former dialling code was 063 881.
ID: EAERI.
Exning ATE
Exning telephone exchange is located in Church Lane, Exning CB8 7HF and also covers Landwade and Snailwell. The building was constructed during World War II to house communicaton equipment. A UAX 13 was installed in 1952 when the village’s manual exchange – opened in 1912 to serve an area previously covered by Newmarket – closed. It was converted to digital working on 28 February 1991.
The principal telephone codes for this exchange are 01638-577 and 01638-578.
Its former dialling code was 063 877.
ID: EAEXN. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.
Kentford ATE
Kentford telephone exchange is located in Station Road, Kentford CB8 7QD and also covers Red Lodge, Kennett, Gazeley, and Moulton. It came into service in 1973 when all lines became Newmarket 750xxx numbers. Its predecessor exchange in Bury Road – now believed demolished – came into operation in March 1936 as a UAX 12, replacing a CBS3 exchange opened in 1929, the area having first been covered by Newmarket exchange.
The principal telephone codes for this exchange are 01638-55 and 01638-75.
The dialling code of its predecessor exchange was 063 875.
ID: EAKEN.
Fordham ATE
Fordham telephone exchange is located in Church Street, Fordham CB7 5NJ and also serves Chippenham. It came into service in 1978 when Fordham lines became Newmarket 720xxx numbers. Its predecessor exchange in Sharman’s Road opened as a UAX13 in late 1937 or early 1938, replacing a manual exchange (the first having been opened here by the National Telephone company in about 1906).
The principal telephone code for this exchange is 01638-72.
The dialling code of its predecessor exchange was 063 872.
ID: EAFDM. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.
Fordham former ATE
The former Fordham telephone exchange is located in Sharman’s Road, Fordham CB7 5JT and served Fordham. It opened as a UAX13 in late 1937 or early 1938, replacing a manual exchange (the first having been opened here by the National Telephone company in about 1906).
It closed in 1978 when the new Fordham exchange opened in Church Street.
The former dialling code for this exchange was 063 872.
ID: EAFDM. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.
Isleham ATE
Isleham telephone exchange is located in Isleham Road, Freckenham IP28 8HP, but seems mainly to cover Isleham. The first exchange here was an RAX5, opened in 1932. It was changed to a UAX13 around 1948. The exchange originally served West Row and Freckenham but lines in these areas were later transferred to Mildenhall. Isleham was converted from Strowger to digital working on 4 August 1988 when lines became Newmarket 780xxx numbers.
The principal telephone code for this exchange is 01638-78.
Its former dialling code was 063 878.
ID: EAISL. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.
Mildenhall ATE
Mildenhall telephone exchange is located in Queensway, Mildenhall IP28 7EW and also serves Beck Row, West Row, Holywell Row, Barton Mills, Freckenham, Worlington and Tuddenham.
It came into service as a Crossbar exchange on 9 September 1970 when lines became Mildenhall 71xxxx numbers. Some time later, it took over lines in Freckenham and West Row from Isleham exchange.
The principal telephone codes for this exchange are 01638-71 and 01638-51.
Its former dialling code was 0638.
ID: EAMIL. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.
Mildenhall former ATE
The former Mildenhall telephone exchange was located in Queensway, Mildenhall IP28 7EP. It came into service in late 1936 or early 1937 as a UAX7. The first manual exchange here was opened by the National Telephone Company in Mill Street in about 1906. Lines in the area of RAF Lakenheath were transferred from Mildenhall to the new Eriswell exchange in 1966.
The former Mildenhall exchange ceased operation in 1970. Planning permission was granted in 1987 to turn it into a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall. It then became a nursery school and is now a terrace of cottages.
Its dialling code was 063 871.
ID: EAMIL. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.
Newmarket ATE
Newmarket telephone exchange is located in The Avenue, Newmarket CB8 9AA. It came into operation at 1pm on 15 September 1949. On 4 October 1960, it became the first exchange in East Anglia to be equipped for Subscriber Trunk Dialling. The switchover to a TXE4 happened at 6am on 18 August 1982 when four-digit numbers were prefixed with 66. An auto-manual board was staffed by operators until it closed on 7 January 1987.
The principal telephone code for this exchange is 01638-6.
Its former dialling code was 0638.
ID: EANMK. Photo courtesy of Nigel Cox.
Ousden ATE
Ousden telephone exchange is located in Cropley Grove, Ousden CB8 8TL and also covers Dalham, Lidgate and Dunstall Green. The first exchange here came into service in 1934 as an RAX5.
It was converted from Strowger to digital working in 1991.
The principal telephone code for this exchange is 01638-500. Its former dialling code was 063 879.
ID: EAOUS. Photo courtesy of Keith Evans.
Six Mile Bottom ATE
Six Mile Bottom telephone exchange is located in The Paddocks, Six Mile Bottom, Newmarket CB8 0UF. Its coverage is mainly confined to the village and immediate area. It came into service as a UAX12 in 1936, replacing a manual exchange which had opened in 1933 with just four lines.
It was converted from Strowger to digital working in early 1994.
The principal telephone codes for this exchange are 01638-570 and 01638-572.
Its former dialling code was 063 870.
ID: EASIX. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.
Stetchworth ATE
Stetchworth telephone exchange is located in Brinkley Road, Dullingham CB8 9UW and serves Stetchworth, Dullingham, Burrough Green and Brinkley. It came into service in 1939 as a UAX13, replacing a manual exchange opened around 1925.
It was converted from Strowger to digital working at 6am on 17 December 1990 when Stetchworth lines became Newmarket 50xxxx numbers.
The principal telephone codes for this exchange are 01638-507 and 01638-508.
Its former dialling code was 063 876.
ID: EASTW. Photo courtesy of John Cranston.