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London SW
Postcode area
SW
Coordinates: 51°27′43″N 0°10′08″W / 51.462°N 0.169°W / 51.462; -0.169
Country	United Kingdom
Postcode area	SW
Postcode area name	London SW
Post towns	1
Postcode districts	29
Postcode sectors	139
Postcodes (live)	19,890
Postcodes (total)	36,392
Statistics as at May 2020

The SW (South Western) postcode area, also known as the London SW postcode area, is a group of 20 postcode districts within the London post town in England. The area comprises the South Western operational district (covering the subdivisions of postcode district SW1, plus SW2 - SW10) and the Battersea operational district (covering SW11 - SW20), and is the only area within the London post town to lie on both sides of the River Thames.

Mail for the area is sorted at the Jubilee Mail Centre in Hounslow, along with mail for the TW, KT and GU postcode areas.

Postal administration

The postcode area originated in 1857 as the SW district. In 1868 it gained some of the area of the very short-lived S district, with the rest going to SE. It was divided into numbered districts in 1917. The South Western district consists of the postcode districts SW1–SW10 and the once Battersea-headquartered component consists of the postcode districts SW11–SW20.

The South Western head district was designated as SW1 and the rest of the numbering followed, alphabetically, by their most important parish, chapelry, topological or built environment feature names, up to 10. Similarly as to the Battersea SW11 once "head district".

List of postcode districts

The approximate coverage of the postcode districts, with the historic postal district names shown in italics:

SW1

SW1 is the South Western head district. Since about the 1890s it has had a surplus of addresses and buildings for practical division into one set of inwards codes so is divided into smaller postcode districts since 1917 used for mail purposes. SW1 is used in geographic reference, street signs and colloquial use across most communities. Its eight subdivisions continue to be classed as one 'district'. Within SW1A are keynote inward codes including:

• SW1A 0AA – House of Commons
• SW1A 0PW – House of Lords, Palace of Westminster
• SW1A 1AA – Buckingham Palace
• SW1A 1BA – Clarence House, Residence of King Charles III during restoration of Buckingham Palace
• SW1A 2AA – 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury
• SW1A 2AB – 11 Downing Street, Chancellor of the Exchequer
• SW1A 2AH – Foreign and Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street
• SW1A 2HQ – HM Treasury headquarters

SW19

SW19 is the postcode that covers Wimbledon and is used as a synonym for the Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament.

Boundaries

The SW postcode area covers parts of nine London Boroughs. North of the River Thames, it covers the southern parts of the City of Westminster, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. South of the river, it covers all of the London Borough of Wandsworth, the western part of the London Borough of Lambeth, the northern parts of the London Boroughs of Merton and Croydon and the northeastern parts of the London Boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Kingston upon Thames.

Map

See also

• Postcode Address File
• List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom
• London postal district

References

1. "ONS Postcode Directory Version Notes" (ZIP). National Statistics Postcode Products. Office for National Statistics. May 2020. Table 2. Retrieved 19 June 2020. Coordinates from mean of unit postcode points, "Code-Point Open". OS OpenData. Ordnance Survey. February 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
2. Address Management Guide (4 ed.). Royal Mail Group. 2004.
3. ^ Monopolies and Mergers Commission (1980). "The London Postal Region" (PDF). The Inner London Letter Post. HMSO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
4. "Postcodes" (PDF). Archive Information Sheet. The British Postal Museum and Archive. January 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
5. ^ "Names of Streets and Places in the London Postal area". HMSO. 1930 – via London Ancestor.
6. Wilson, Andy (12 July 2019). "Where is Wimbledon and why is it called SW19? Reason explained". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
7. Dickson Jefford, Oli (10 July 2022). "Wimbledon 2022: Seven talking points from SW19". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
8. File:Londonpostal iln 1857.jpg
9. Postcodes in the United Kingdom#History

External links

• Royal Mail's Postcode Address File
• A quick introduction to Royal Mail's Postcode Address File (PAF) Archived 26 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine

• "SW1". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012.
• "SW2". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 27 December 2012.
• "SW3". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012.
• "SW4". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.
• "SW5". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.
• "SW6". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.
• "SW7". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.
• "SW8". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 20 September 2007.
• "SW9". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012.
• "SW10". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012.
• "SW11". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012.
• "SW12". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.
• "SW13". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.
• "SW14". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010.
• "SW15". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012.
• "SW16". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012.
• "SW17". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 20 April 2012.
• "SW18". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012.
• "SW19". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012.
• "SW20". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012.

• Postcode areas covering London