Historical version 4 of Telephone Area Code For London (view current version)
History
Before 1989, there was one dialling code for London: 01 plain and simple. Admittedly getting particular numbers allocated was a pain, but it was due to overcrowding in the number range that the numbers were split into inner and outer London. See the page locale docklands for a reference to this
From 1989, the dialling codes changed FOUR times:
- Upto 1989 - 01
- 1989 to 1992 - 071 and 081
- 1992 to 1994 - 0171 and 0181 (National codes were all changed to add 1 after the 0)
- 1994 to 1997 - 020 dialling code introduced with 7 or 8. The previous dialling codes continued to work. Local numbers were still dialled as 7 digits, e.g. 123 4567
- 1997 to present 020
In 1997, the exchange codes were properly reorganised to be 3 digits long, with the local number 8 digits long. It is no longer possible to determine the location of a subscriber withing London based on the area code.
It can be a good indicator of how long a firm has been in business if it has a sign using one of the older dialling code conventions.