TA0928 : Castle Street, Kingston upon Hull
taken 20 years ago, near to Kingston Upon Hull, England

On 22 August 1902, Kingston upon Hull Corporation was granted a licence under the Telegraph Act 1899 to operate a municipal telephone system in the Kingston upon Hull area, opening its first telephone exchange on 28 November 1904 at the former Trippett Street Baths, Wincolmlee: Link
In 1911 the Post Office took over the National Telephone Company's system, but Kingston upon Hull Corporation was permitted to retain its own service. Since then, it provided the only municipal telephone service in the country. In 1987, it became Kingston Communications (Hull) plc, still owned 100% by the Council. In 1999 the company was partially floated on the stock exchange. In 2007 its name was changed to KCOM Group plc. On 4 April 2016, the company moved all of its brand under a single KCOM brand name. KCOM was acquired by MEIF 6 Fibre Ltd, a business unit of Macquarie Group, in August 2019. Further information in Wikipedia: Link
KCOM's history: Link
The former Mytongate Exchange, No.65 Castle Street, formerly Mytongate. A distinctive brick and terracotta building opened by the National Telephone Company on 19 March 1901, replacing its former headquarters at Victoria Chambers, Nos.6-7 Bowlalley Lane. It was taken over by the Post Office when the Company ceased trading on 31 December 1911. The building subsequently became the headquarters of the Kingston upon Hull Corporation Telephone Department from May 1914 until 1963, when it moved to newly-built Telephone House in Carr Lane: Link A blue heritage plaque, to the left of the entrance, commemorates this fact.
The General Post Office (GPO), established in England in the 17th century, was the monopoly state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom. The GPO was abolished by the Post Office Act 1969, which transferred its assets to the Post Office, changing it from a Department of State to a statutory corporation. Responsibility for telecommunications was given to Post Office Telecommunications, the successor of the GPO Telegraph and Telephones department. For subsequent changes, including Royal Mail Group plc (created 2002), Post Office Ltd (2002) and International Distribution Services (2022) and further details, see Wikipedia: Link
As a provincial subsidiary of the United Telephone Company Limited (UTC), The National Telephone Company (NTC) was formed on 10 March 1881, to develop and operate telephone services in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Ulster and parts of Scotland.
In Kingston upon Hull, the NTC rented Victoria Chambers, Nos. 6-7 Bowlalley Lane in 1890 for its headquarters; an exchange operated from the rear of the building. The company vacated the building consequential of the opening of its exchange at No. 65 Mytongate, now Castle Street, on 19 March 1901. The NTC acquired the Fish Street Congregational Chapel on 23 May 1898 to accommodate an exchange. In 1904 the NTC opened a House Exchange Call Office at Pear Tree Cottage, College Street, Sutton on Hull; the premises backed on to the rear of the Post Office at No. 68 Church Street.
The Postmaster General took over the NTC and its telephone systems on 31 December 1911 upon the expiry of its licence, except in Kingston upon Hull, where the Corporation was permitted to retain its own service. Further information in Wikipedia: Link
