0114

History

Before 1965, Sheffield had 5-digit telephone numbers, with the first digit indicating the exchange area of the telephone line. Sheffield's 6-digit numbers were implemented by prefixing the original 5-digit numbers with a duplicate of the first digit (seen below), other than the 2xxxx numbers which were prefixed by 7 (as seen by the last example). This grouped telephone numbers centrally in the 1 to 9 range with a larger "buffer" at the extremes.

Switching to 6-digit numbers produced 90,000 available numbers for each exchange group, providing another 450,000 available numbers after combining both phases, producing a potential 500,000 numbers in Sheffield.

Between regions

Until the 1980s, Stocksbridge, Oughtibridge, and some other areas had 4-digit numbers. Within Stocksbridge and Oughtibridge people dialed only 4-digit numbers, while from Sheffield people dialed prefix 88 for Stocksbridge and prefix 86 for Oughtibridge. From Oughtibridge, people dialed 88xxxx for Stocksbridge and 9xxxxxx for Sheffield. This led to some confusion, leading people to often dial wrong numbers. During the 1980s these local areas were unified into 6-digit Sheffield numbers so that from anywhere in the Sheffield code area, 88xxxx dialed a Stocksbridge number, even from within Stocksbridge. Once the 8-prefix was merged into the full local number this released 8xxxxx numbers.

Transition to 7-digit system

Transitioning to 7-digit numbers in 1995 involved prefixing each 6-digit number with a 2. Immediately after the 1995 change, the corresponding 22x-xxxx numbers became available for allocation, followed by the 20x-xxxx and 21x-xxxx ranges, since the corresponding 0742 0xxxxx and 1xxxxx could not be issued as local numbers cannot start with a 1 or a 0, these being the prefix for the operator and area code dialling respectively. The 0114 code allows for a potential maximum of 7,990,000 local numbers to be issued, assuming the use of the entire valid range from (0114) 200-0000 to (0114) 998-9999 country-wide.

Coverage

The 0114 dialing code includes the whole of Sheffield except for Midhopestones area which uses the Barnsley 01226 dialling code and the Fox House area which uses dialing code 01433. The codes extends beyond the City of Sheffield to include the Killamarsh area of North East Derbyshire and the Aston, Aughton, and Ulley areas of Rotherham.

Number allocation

Under the National Telephone Numbering Plan the code operates with the following sub-ranges:

Sheffield (0114) - 2xx - xxxx numbers have now been exhausted, so new numbers issued now begin with 3 or 4, rather than the old ones being reused. There have reportedly been many problems involving people incorrectly dialing 01142 3xx - xxxx for 0114 3xx - xxxx numbers and therefore being connected to the wrong person or business.

The area code is not subject to number conservation and the regulator Ofcom does not restrict the size of number blocks that are allocated.

Trivia

In 2013, Matt Helders, drummer of Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys, added the 0114 dialling code to the cover of his drum kit, in honour of the band's hometown.

References

References

1. "The National Numbering Scheme - Telephone Numbers administered by Ofcom".
2. "0114 area code location and overview - Area-codes.org.uk".
3. http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c180/lbgradwell/Gordon004A.jpg Example of a 5-digit 2xxxx Sheffield telephone number which would become a 6-digit 72xxxx number, and then eventually the 7-digit number 272-xxxx
4. "Sheffield Star Article".
5. "Applegate's list of businesses in the Sheffield 01142(sic) area.".
6. "0114 Area Code".
7. (11 January 2010). "Conserving geographic numbers - Statement".
8. Lynskey, Dorian. "Arctic Monkeys – review". The Guardian.