01527 is the national dialling code for Redditch in the United Kingdom. Before PhONEday the area code was 0527. The mnemonic for 0527 corresponds with LA 7 where LA could have been taken from the letters L and A in Lapworth, a small village in Warwickshire close to Redditch but not served by the 0527 dialling code. The original dialling code for Redditch was 0739, with the mnemonic RE 9 where RE are taken from the letters R and E in Redditch. In common with all other British area codes the initial '0' is a trunk prefix that is not required when dialling from abroad. Redditch is one of a small number of dialling codes which still retains 5 figure telephone numbers. 01527 60000 to 69999 are located on Redditch (Old Town) telephone exchange. They are the successors to 07392 60000 to 69999, and prior to STD the original 4 figure numbers on the manual telephone exchange which served Redditch until the early 1960s. Coverage The dialling code contains eight telephone exchanges which serve the towns of Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, several villages in Worcestershire on the outskirts of these two towns, and the village of Studley in Warwickshire. Settlements served by the dialling code include: Astwood Bank, Bromsgrove, Catshill, Dodford, Hanbury, Lickey End, Redditch, Studley, Wychbold History Redditch was a dependent charge group of Birmingham during the period when its STD code was 0739 as it did not have its own Group switching centre (GSC). The routing digits for 0739 in distant STD exchanges were the same as those for Birmingham Newhall exchange followed by 194. Redditch telephone exchanges were not arranged in a linked numbering scheme, so 0739 was suffixed with a digit identifying the particular exchange. The STD codes were changed some time in the early 1970s - possibly on the date that the Headless Cross GSC came into operation, replacing Birmingham Newhall. The new STD codes were unchanged in 1984. Calls from the Redditch charge group were charged at local rate to telephone exchanges in the following STD codes: Former local dialling codes From Birmingham: Local dialling codes were not provided for telephone exchanges with 3 figure numbers. Calls to these exchanges were via the operator then later the full STD codes was used. From Dudley: A direct link was provided between Dudley and Bromsgrove. Calls to other exchanges were routed via Redditch. The unpublished