The Old Telephone
Company, Essex, England
Established in 1986
Exclusively old telephones and parts for over 20 years
I have personally restored and sold over 3000 old telephones
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.
Most are guaranteed for one year.
Some early telephones cannot satisfactorily be converted for
use today. They are sold to collectors without a guarantee.
As I usually only restore on an "as required basis", there may be
a short delay before any telephone is actually available.
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 (Virgin, 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 their 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 £15.
Spare parts are normally sent by 1st class mail.
There is a minimum order charge of £15 including postage for all mail order transactions.
I strongly recommend that you contact me first before making a journey.
Terms: 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)
If you wish to place an order,
or have an enquiry, please read all below.
Please call (Gavin Payne) by telephone if you wish to place
an order, or have an enquiry. I can usually be reached 9.00am to
5.45pm including weekends. Calls in the evening are not appreciated and could
make me very grumpy. The number is 01245 400601.
I am in the shop most
Saturday and Sunday mornings between 10.00 and 12.00. Conversions and repairs
are often carried out while you wait.
If you have a telephone that you want to know more about, or
have it repaired or converted, please have it right next to you when you call.
Please also have a selection of small flat bladed screwdrivers to hand.
I do not give advice for DIY repairs or conversions or valuations of any kind
over the telephone or by email. Please bring the telephone to my shop for
assessment, but always call me first before bringing it in.
an old bakelite
telephone 
