Telegraphy and Telegrams

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An extract from a photo showing the telegraph poles next to the railway track

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Site of old Railway Station

The coming of telegraphy

The UK telegraph system was initially created to improve signalling on the railways and later developed for use to enable the sending of coded messages from one telegraphy office to another for commercial or private needs.
The first record of any telegraphy being used in Helpston was reported in the Stamford Mercury on 29 May 1857.¹ Early messages were sent by telegram.

The Post Office took over the UK Telegraph Service by means of special Acts of Parliament in 1868 and 1869.  But it was not until 1879 that the first telephone exchange opened in London followed by others across the country. The first Post Office phone books were published in 1880.
In the 1890 and 1906 publications of the Kelly’s Directory for Helpston, (the forerunner of Telephone directories recording name of business holders and their trade) it was reported “the telegraph office is at the railway station”.
William Eastick, a telegraphy clerk is recorded living at Woodgate End (Broad Wheel Road) on the 1881 census. ²

Telegrams

Telegraphs or Telegrams as they were later known, became popular as a means of sending important messages and greetings. Telegrams were sent out to announce the safe arrival of a baby and at the other end of the spectrum, were received by a family to bear the sad news of a military loss during the war. The Monarch would send a telegram to a resident in the country reaching their 100^th Birthday. A message to a bride and groom from an invited guest who was unable to attend the event was always welcome. Frequently it was delivered to the wedding reception venue just in time for the Best Man to read the message to the happy couple.

To send a telegram, the sender had to go to the Post Office. The message was tapped out and sent to a destination Post Office where it was printed or handwritten, then delivered in a yellow envelope by the “telegraph boy” to the destination address.
Costs for sending a telegram were expensive – the first 9 words were included in the initial charge, with additional charges for each word thereafter. In addition there could be delivery costs depending on the distance travelled.

1 Newspaper image © The British Library Board. All rights reserved. Thanks to The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk).
2 Census records – Ancestry.co.uk