London Postcodes

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E Postcode District

E1: Eastern head district
E1W: Wapping district
E2: Bethnal Green district
E3: Bow district
E4: Chingford district
E5: Clapton district
E6: East Ham district
E7: Forest Gate district
E8: Hackney district
E9: Homerton district
E10: Leyton district
E11: Leytonstone district
E12: Manor Park distric
E13: Plaistow district
E14: Poplar district
E15: Stratford district
E16: Victoria Docks district
E17: Walthamstow district
E18: Woodford and South Woodford district
E19: Walford district (fictional used for EastEnders)
E20: Olympic Park district (introduced for 2012 Olympics)

EC Postcode District

EC1A: St Bartholomew's Hospital
EC1M: Clerkenwell
EC1N: Hatton Gardens
EC1R: Finsbury West
EC1V: Finsbury East
EC1Y: St Luke's
EC2A: Shoreditch
EC2M: Broadgate
EC2N: Old Broad Street
EC2R: Bank of England
EC2V: Guildhall
EC2Y: Barbican
EC3A: St Mary Axe
EC3M: Fenchurch Street
EC3N: Tower Hill
EC3R: Monument
EC3V: Cornhill
EC4A: Fetter Lane
EC4M: St Paul's
EC4N: Mansion House
EC4R: Cannon Street
EC4V: Blackfriars
EC4Y: Temple

N Postcode District

N1: Northern head district
N1C: Kings Cross Central
N2: East Finchley
N3: Finchley
N4: Finsbury Park
N5: Highbury district
N6: Highgate district
N7: Holloway district
N8: Hornsey district
N9: Lower Edmonton district
N10: Muswell Hill district
N11: New Southgate district
N12: North Finchley district
N13: Palmers Green district
N14: Southgate district
N15: South Tottenham district
N16: Stoke Newington district
N17: Tottenham district
N18: Upper Edmonton district
N19: Upper Holloway district:
N20: Whetstone district
N21: Winchmore Hill district
N22: Wood Green district

NW Postcode District

NW1: North Western head district
NW2: Cricklewood district
NW3: Hampstead distric
NW4: Hendon district
NW5: Kentish Town district
NW6: Kilburn district
NW7: Mill Hill district
NW8: St John's Wood district
NW9: The Hyde district
NW10: Willesden district
NW11: Golders Green district

SE Postcode District

S1: South Eastern head district
S2: Abbey Wood district
S3: Blackheath district
S4: Brockley district
S5: Camberwell district
S6: Catford district
S7: Charlton district
S8: Deptford district
S9: Eltham district
S10: Greenwich district
S11: Kennington district
S12: Lee district
S13: Lewisham district
S14: New Cross district
S15: Peckham district
S16: Rotherhithe district
S17: Walworth district
S18: Woolwich district
S19: Norwood district
S20: Anerley district
S21: Dulwich district
S22: East Dulwich district
S23: Forest Hill district
S24: Herne Hill
S25: South Norwood district
S26: Sydenham district
S27: West Norwood district
S28: Thamesmead district

SW Postcode District

SW1A: Whitehall
SW1E: Northern 'Victoria
SW1H: St James's Park
SW1P: Parliament Square
SW1V: Pimlico
SW1W: Lower Belgravia
SW1X: Upper Belgravia
SW1Y: St James's
SW2: Brixton district
SW3: Chelsea district
SW4: Clapham district
SW5: Earls Court district
SW6: Fulham district
SW7: South Kensington district
SW8: South Lambeth district
SW9: Stockwell district
SW10: West Brompton district
SW11: Battersea head district:
SW12: Balham district
SW13: Barnes district
SW14: Mortlake district
SW15: Putney district
SW16: Streatham district
SW17: Tooting district
SW18: Wandsworth district
SW19: Wimbledon district
SW20: West Wimbledon district

W Postcode District

W1B: Portland Place
W1C: Oxford Street
W1D: Soho
W1F: Soho
W1G: Harley Street
W1H: Marylebone
W1J: South Mayfair
W1K: North Mayfair
W1S: East Mayfair
W1T: Fitzrovia
W1U: Marylebone
W1W: East Marylebone
W2: Paddington head district
W3: Acton district
W4: Chiswick district
W5: Ealing district
W6: Hammersmith district
W7: Hanwell district
W8: Kensington district
W9: Maida Hill
W10: Ladbroke Grove district
W11: Notting Hill district
W12: Shepherds Bush
W13: West Ealing district
W14: West Kensington district

WC Postcode District

WC1A: New Oxford Street
WC1B: Bloomsbury
WC1E: Birkbeck College
WC1H: St Pancras
WC1N: Russell Square
WC1R: Gray's Inn
WC1V: High Holborn
WC1X: Kings Cross
WC2A: Lincoln's Inn Fields
WC2B: Drury Lane
WC2E: Covent Garden
WC2H: Leicester Square
WC2N: Charing Cross
WC2R: Somerset House

The History of London Postcodes

We often think postcodes were introduced between 1959 and 1974. However, they date back much further. By 1856, London was becoming a sprawling metropolis of over 3 million inhabitants. Simply addressing mail to 'London' was no longer practical.

Sir Rowland Hill: Father of the Penny Postage

Up steps Sir Rowland Hill, Postmaster born in 1795 and died in 1879. He would later be known affectionately as the "Father of the Penny Postage". He drew a circle with a 12-mile radius around London, with the central point being the Royal Mail Headquarters at St. Martins Le Grand. He then subdivided the city into 8 divisions based on the cardinal compass points.

Original Postal Subdivisions

London Postal Area	Head Office Location
EC	St Martins Le Grand
WC	High Holborn
N	Lower Road, Islington
NE	Bethnal Green Road
E	Commercial Road East
SE	High Street Boro
S (now Sheffield)	Westminster Road
SW	Victoria Street, Pimlico
W	Vere Street, Oxford Street
NW (Now Newcastle)	Eversholt Street, Camden Town

During the 1860’s, this was amended further with the S Area being merged into the SW and SE area and the NE division being absorbed into the E division.

Illustrations

These deleted areas still cause confusion to this day with S being reused for Sheffield and NE for Newcastle upon Tyne.

Modern London Postcode Area Plan — Modern London Postcode Areas

High Density Sub-divisions

As we moved through the 20th century, buildings in central London began to soar skywards. This intense urban development in the heart districts led to the need for further subdividing postal areas. As a result, letters were added to the end of the district codes, leading to designations like WC1A, EL1W, and others. If anyone has insights into how these specific numbers and letters were assigned, I'd be eager to learn.