The Old Telephone Company,  Essex, England
Established in 1986
Exclusively old telephones and parts for over 20 years

  Ring back memories with Home Page    an old bakelite telephone

 Written Info
Having problems with your eBay telephone?
Contact me, I may be able to help you.

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Telephones
How to find me
Conversions
Information
Links
About Us
Repairs
Spares
Buzby
Guarantee
Odds and Ends
Frequently asked Questions
What is in the Shop?
Mail Order

INFORMATION

The Old Telephone Company is located in ground floor of The Old Granary, which is part of Battlesbridge Antiques Centre complex.
For opening hours please see the home page.


The Old Granary has wheelchair access to most of the ground floor. In addition to the ground floor, there are antique and collectables dealers on three more floors.
Parking There is extensive parking including disabled bays encircling The Old Granary up to the riverbank.
The Willow Tea Room Cafe on the 4th floor serves all day breakfasts and light refreshments. Every table has window seats with views of the River Crouch; Battlesbridge Harbour; remains of the tide mill and mill pond, and the other buildings of the antiques centre.
The whole antiques centre covers a several acre site on the banks of The River Crouch and is reputed to be the largest antiques centre in East Anglia.
The Barge Public House which is less than a minutes walk from my shop, has recently been completely re-furbished and is now under new management.

All the telephones are:-
        Original, not reproductions.
        Shown in a "hands on" display.
        Restored by myself.
        Have a written description, and history
        In stock, either ready for sale, or waiting restoration

They are individually priced, based on age, condition and features. Prices shown on this web site are only shown as a guide, and are based on the customer collecting the telephone from my shop.
A tip for personal callers to the shop.
The best selection of telephones can be seen after re-stocking on a Saturday morning.
bullet Most are guaranteed for one year.
bullet Some early telephones cannot satisfactorily be converted for use today. They are sold to collectors without a guarantee.
bullet As I usually only restore on an "as required basis", there may be a short delay before any telephone is actually available.
bullet
Using dial telephones on today's telephone lines. Please read this important notice.
Changes are taking place on Britain's telephone network that may affect the way old dial telephones work. This applies to all dial telephones alike, those bought from us and all others.
 Until recently all telephone lines allowed you to call using either a traditional dial telephone or a modern push-button tone-calling instrument. Increasingly cable company (NTL, Telewest etc) lines accept tone dialling only not pulse as with dial telephones.
So far I have not heard of difficulties with a BT line. As long as you are paying line rental to BT, there should not be a problem.
 
However the bottom line is this: it is now no longer possible to guarantee unconditionally that our (or anyone else's) dial telephones will  dial numbers correctly. Nevertheless, the telephones will still ring and let you answer incoming calls.
Don't forget that with today's long telephone numbers and voice menus that ask you to press * and # buttons, most of my customers for practical reasons use an alternative push button telephones for most outgoing calls.
A dial telephone will not interfere with a modern push button telephone on the same line.

Mail Order

All my telephones and spares are available by mail order.
Telephones that are restored and in stock are available for immediate delivery. There are many more telephones waiting restoration which can be ordered. Restoration time is usually 1 to 2 weeks although a faster service can sometimes be arranged.
I use ParcelForce 24 which is a next day signed for service. Post and packing for a telephone to a UK mainland address (Excluding parts of Scotland) is £13.
Spare parts are normally sent by 1st class mail.
There is a minimum order charge of £15 including postage for all mail order transactions.
 

bulletI strongly recommend that you contact me first before making a journey.
bulletTerms: Cash, Visa, MasterCard and Maestro (Switch). BACS and IBAN bank transfer.
 Cheques; 8 days must be allowed for clearance before goods can be released (British Bank Accounts only)
 

Come to Battlesbridge Antiques Centre, the largest in Essex
[ Telephones ] [ How to find me ] [ Conversions ] [ Information ] [ Links ] [ About Us ] [ Repairs ] [ Spares ] [ Buzby ] [ Guarantee ] [ Odds and Ends ] [ Frequently asked Questions ] [ What is in the Shop? ] [ Mail Order ]
I prefer payment by all the usual Credit/Debit Cards.

If you wish to place an order, or have an enquiry, please read all of this section before trying to contact me.

I much prefer it you to call me (Gavin Payne) by telephone if you wish to place an order, or have an enquiry. I can be reached during normal office hours seven days a week. Calls in the evening are not appreciated and could make me very grumpy. The number is 01245 400601, or if calling from outside the United Kingdom (44)1245 400601.

Emails to gp@theoldtelephone.co.uk . Due to the high levels of spam mail I receive, the spam filter is at maximum followed by automatic email deletion. Some genuine emails are being detected as spam and deleted. If you do not receive an answer to an email in a day or so, please call me on the telephone number above.

By post to The Old Telephone Company, Battlesbridge Antiques Centre,
 Battlesbridge, Essex SS11 7RE.

If you have a telephone in your possession that you want to know more about, or have repaired or converted, please have it right next to you when you call. It is not sufficient just to have a note of any markings or to rely on memory. It may be useful to have a selection of small flat bladed screwdrivers to hand.

The Old Telephone Company respects your privacy, and will not divulge any information about you to a third party.
Copyright © 1998 to 2008 by The Old Telephone Company
Last modified: August 02, 2008

E&OE