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London W
Postcode area
W
Coordinates: 51°30′40″N 0°11′46″W / 51.511°N 0.196°W / 51.511; -0.196
Country	United Kingdom
Postcode area	W
Postcode area name	London W
Post towns	1
Postcode districts	35
Postcode sectors	217
Postcodes (live)	18,554
Postcodes (total)	39,954
Statistics as at May 2020

The W (Western and Paddington) postcode area, also known as the London W postcode area is a group of postcode districts covering part of central and part of West London, England. The area originates from the Western (W1) and Paddington (W2-14) districts of the London postal district. This area covers 35 postcode districts and around 18,554 live postcodes.

Postal administration

The Western district consists of the single original W1 postal district. The area that it covers is high-density and so has been subdivided into a number of smaller postcode districts. When districts are used for purposes other than the sorting of mail, such as use as a geographic reference and on street signs, the W1 subdivisions continue to be classed as one 'district'. In June 2000, there was a recoding of the area, with the W1M, W1N, W1P, W1R, W1V, W1X and W1Y districts being replaced.

The mail centre for W1 is London Central, and that for W2-14 is Greenford.

Deliveries for W1 (and for WC1 and WC2) came from the Western District Office on Rathbone Place until it was decommissioned. It was a stop on the former London Post Office Railway, which has been mothballed since 2003. The Western District Office was initially on Wimpole Street, which was also a stop on the London Post Office Railway.

The Paddington district has 13 postcode districts (W2–14). Other than W2, the districts are arranged alphabetically, run from W3 (Acton) to W14 (West Kensington) and radiate westwards. The Paddington Head District Sorting Office was the western terminus of the London Post Office Railway, which ran 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to the Eastern District Office, at Whitechapel.

List of postcode districts

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

Boundaries

Postcode districts W1 and W2 are central to London, and W3 to W14 are mostly further west. The boundaries of the area and its numbered districts have changed over time and are the result of the working requirements of the Royal Mail. The boundaries do not coincide with the local authority areas. W1 is almost entirely in the City of Westminster, with a small part in the London Borough of Camden. W2 to W14 cover the northwestern part of the City of Westminster, the northern parts of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and the eastern parts of the London Boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow, as well as very small parts of the London Boroughs of Brent and Camden.

In popular culture

The TV series W1A satirises the goings-on at the BBC's Broadcasting House in Portland Place, whose memorable postcode is W1A 1AA.

AJ Tracey released the 2020 track "West Ten", which refers to the Ladbroke Grove area.

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. Royal Mail (2004). Address Management Guide (4 ed.). Royal Mail Group.
3. ^ Monopolies and Mergers Commission (1980). The Inner London Letter Post. HMSO. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
4. ^ "Names of Streets and Places in the London Postal area". HMSO. 1930.
5. Royal Mail (18 April 2007). "Royal Mail major recode historical information – 2000 to March 2007" (PDF). Royal Mail Group. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
6. Map of London district names and numbers, from the 1963 edition of Bartholomew's Reference Atlas of Greater London
7. "Non Geographic Codes" (PDF). Royal Mail Address Management Unit. July 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.

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

• "W1". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012.
• "W2". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012.
• "W3". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012.
• "W4". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012.
• "W5". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012.
• "W6". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012.
• "W7". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012.
• "W8". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012.
• "W9". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012.
• "W10". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.
• "W11". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.
• "W12". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.
• "W13". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012.
• "W14". The Postcodes Project. Museum of London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.

• Postcode areas covering London
• Media and communications in the City of Westminster
• Media and communications in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
• Media and communications in the London Borough of Ealing
• Media and communications in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
• Media and communications in the London Borough of Hounslow
• Media and communications in the London Borough of Camden