Editing London postal district

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
{{infobox settlement
| name                    = London
| subdivision_type        = [[List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom|Postcode areas]]
| subdivision_name        = [[E postcode area|E]], [[EC postcode area|EC]], [[N postcode area|N]], [[NW postcode area|NW]], [[SE postcode area|SE]], [[SW postcode area|SW]], [[W postcode area|W]], [[WC postcode area|WC]]
| settlement_type         = [[Post town]]
| area_total_sq_mi        = 241
| image_map               = LONDON post town map.svg
| mapsize                = 250px
}}
The '''London postal district''' is the area in [[England]] of {{convert|241|sqmi|km2}} to which mail addressed to the '''[[London]] [[post town]]''' is delivered. The [[General Post Office]] under the control of the [[Postmaster General of the United Kingdom|Postmaster General]] directed [[Rowland Hill (postal reformer)|Sir Rowland Hill]] to devise the area in 1856 and throughout its history it has been subject to reorganisation and division into increasingly smaller postal units, with the early loss of two [[boxing the compass|compass points]] and a minor retraction in 1866. It was integrated by the [[Royal Mail|Post Office]] into the national [[Postcodes in the United Kingdom|postcode system of the United Kingdom]] during the early 1970s and corresponds to the [[E postcode area|E]], [[EC postcode area|EC]], [[N postcode area|N]], [[NW postcode area|NW]], [[SE postcode area|SE]], [[SW postcode area|SW]], [[W postcode area|W]] and [[WC postcode area]]s. The postal district has also been known as the '''London postal area'''. The [[County of London]] was much smaller, at {{convert|117|mi2}}, but [[Greater London]] is much larger at {{convert|607|mi2}}.

==History==

===Origins===
[[File:Londonpostal iln 1857.jpg|thumb|left|Map of the original London postal district in 1857]]
[[File:The Post Office in St Martin le Grand by Thomas Shepherd (late 1820s).jpg|thumb|The Post Office in St. Martin's Le Grand]]
By the 1850s, the rapid growth of the metropolitan area meant it became too large to operate efficiently as a single post town.<ref name=bpma/> A Post Office inquiry into the problem had been set up in 1837 and a [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] committee was initiated in 1843.<ref name=chambers/> In 1854 [[Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning|Charles Canning]], the [[United Kingdom Postmaster General|Postmaster General]], set up a committee at the Post Office in St. Martin's Le Grand to investigate how London could best be divided for the purposes of directing mail. In 1856, of the 470 million items of mail sent in the United Kingdom during the year, approximately one fifth (100 million) were for delivery in London and half of these (50 million items) also originated there.<ref name=chambers/>

The [[General Post Office]] under the control of the [[Postmaster General of the United Kingdom|Postmaster General]] devised the area in 1856.   [[Rowland Hill (postal reformer)|Sir Rowland Hill]]<ref name=wilson>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/entry_page.jsp?text_id=730390 IGWE] managed the project.{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930204318/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/entry_page.jsp?text_id=730390 |date=30 September 2007 }} - John Marius Wilson, ''[[Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales]]'' (1870-72)</ref> produced an almost perfectly circular area of {{convert|12|mi|km}} radius from the [[General Post Office, London|central post office]] at [[St. Martin's Le Grand]] in central London.<ref name=wilson/> As originally devised, it extended from [[Waltham Cross]] in the north to [[Carshalton]] in the south and from [[Romford]] in the east to [[Sunbury-on-Thames|Sunbury]] in the west &mdash; six counties at the time if including the [[City of London]].<ref name=chambers>Chambers, W., ''The Postman's Knock'', Chambers's Edinburgh Journal (1857)</ref> Within the district it was divided into two central areas and eight compass points which operated much like separate [[post towns]]. Each was named "London" with a suffix (EC, WC, N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, and NW) indicating the area it covered; each had a separate head office.<ref name=wilson/> The system was introduced during 1857<ref name=bpma/> and completed on 1 January 1858.<ref name=richardson>Richardson, J., ''The Annals of London'' (2000)</ref>

===Abolition of NE and S divisions and retraction of E division===
During the 1860s, following an official report by [[Anthony Trollope]], the E division subsumed the original NE division (which became defunct) and the S division was split between the SE and SW divisions. In 1866, NE was abolished; large districts transferred to E included [[Walthamstow]],<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42776 "Walthamstow: Transport and postal services"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525203121/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42776 |date=25 May 2011 }}, ''A History of the County of Essex'': Volume 6 (1973), pp. 250-251. Retrieved 14 December 2007.</ref> [[Wanstead]] and [[Leytonstone]].<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42785 "Wanstead: Introduction"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525203253/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42785 |date=25 May 2011 }}, ''A History of the County of Essex'': Volume 6 (1973), pp. 317-322. Retrieved 22 December 2007.</ref> The eight remaining letter prefixes (excluding all numbers) were not changed.<ref name=guide>Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004)</ref> In 1868 the S district was abolished and split between SE and SW.<ref name=bpma/>

At the same time, the London postal district boundary was retracted in the east, when some Essex areas, including around [[Ilford]], became part of other postal towns.<ref name=bpma>British Postal Museum and Archive - [https://archive.today/20121224045050/http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/page/postcode Web page: Postcodes]</ref><ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42766 "Little Ilford"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525172728/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42766 |date=25 May 2011 }}, ''A History of the County of Essex'': Volume 6 (1973), pp. 163-174. Retrieved 14 December 2007.</ref>

The NE and S codes have been re-used in the national postcode system and now refer to the [[NE postcode area]] around [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] and the [[S postcode area]] around [[Sheffield]].<ref name=guide/>

===Numbered divisions===
[[File:PO Notice 1917 re London Postal District number codes.jpg|thumb|upright|Post Office Notice re introduction of number codes dated 1 March 1917]]
In 1917, as a wartime measure to improve efficiency, the districts were further subdivided with a number applied to each sub-district.<ref name=bpma/> This was achieved by designating a sub-area served most conveniently by the head office in each district "1" and then allocating the rest alphabetically by the name of the location of each delivery office.<ref name=bpma/> Exceptionally, [[W postcode area|W2]] and [[SW postcode area|SW11]] are also 'head districts'.

The boundaries of each sub-district rarely correspond to any units of civil administration: the [[Civil parishes in England|parishes]] and hamlets/chapelries with chapels that traditionally define settlement names everywhere in England and Wales or the generally larger [[borough status in the United Kingdom|boroughs]]; despite this, postal sub-districts have developed over time into a primary reference frame. The numbered sub-districts became the "outward code" (first half) of the postcode system as expanded into longer codes during the 1970s.

====Changes====
Ad hoc changes have taken place to the organisation of the districts, such as the creation of [[SE postcode area|SE28]] from existing districts because of the construction of the high-density [[Thamesmead]] development.

===High-density districts===
;Subdivisions of postcode sub-districts
Owing to heavier demand, seven high-density postcode districts in central London have been subdivided to create new, smaller postcode districts. This is achieved by adding a letter after the original postcode district, for example '''W1P'''. Where such sub-districts are used elsewhere such as on street signs and maps, the original unsuffixed catch-all versions often remain in use instead. The districts subdivided are [[E postcode area|E]]1, [[N postcode area|N]]1, [[EC postcode area|EC]] (EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4) [[SW postcode area|SW]]1, [[W postcode area|W]]1, [[WC postcode area|WC]]1 and WC2 (each with several subdivisions).  Similarly, there are solely [[Non-geographic postcodes|non-geographic]] suffixed sub-districts for PO boxes in [[NW postcode area|NW]]1 (e.g. NW1W) and [[SE postcode area|SE]]1 (e.g. SE1P).

===Relationship to London boundary===
[[File:London Postal District.png|thumb|Greater London split into the London boroughs superimposed with the London postal district (red)]]
The London postal district has never been aligned with the London boundary. When the initial system was designed, the London boundary was restricted to the square mile of the small, ancient [[City of London]]. The wider metropolitan postal area covered parts of [[Middlesex]], [[Surrey]], [[Kent]], [[Essex]] and [[Hertfordshire]].

In 1889 a [[County of London]], which was smaller than the postal district, was created from parts of Middlesex, Surrey and Kent.  The bulk of 40 fringe sub-districts (having been numbered in 1917) lay outside its boundary including, for example: [[Leyton]], [[Ealing]], [[Totteridge]] and [[Wimbledon, London|Wimbledon]]

In 1965 the creation of [[Greater London]] boundary went beyond these postal districts except for part of the parish of [[Waltham Holy Cross]]. The [[General Post Office]] was unwilling to follow this change and expand the postal district to match because of the cost.<ref>"G.P.O. To Keep Old Names. London Changes Too Costly." ''The Times'' (London). 12 April 1966.</ref> Places in London's outer boroughs such as [[Harrow, London|Harrow]], [[Barnet, London|Barnet]], [[Wembley]], [[Enfield Town|Enfield]], [[Ilford]], [[Romford]], [[Bexleyheath]], [[Bromley]], [[Hounslow]], [[Richmond, London|Richmond]], [[Croydon]], [[Sutton, London|Sutton]], [[Kingston, London|Kingston]] and [[Uxbridge]] are therefore covered by parts of twelve adjoining postcode areas ([[EN postcode area|EN]], [[IG postcode area|IG]], [[RM postcode area|RM]], [[DA postcode area|DA]], [[BR postcode area|BR]], [[TN postcode area|TN]], [[CR postcode area|CR]], [[SM postcode area|SM]], [[KT postcode area|KT]], [[TW postcode area|TW]], [[HA postcode area|HA]] and [[UB postcode area|UB]]) from postal districts of 5 different [[former postal counties|counties]] including [[Middlesex]] whose county council was abolished upon the creation of the Greater London Council.

[[Royal Mail]] has a seemingly settled policy of changing postcodes only if there is an operational advantage to doing so, unlike the postal services of other countries {{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}, and so has no plan to change the postcode system to correlate with the Greater London boundary {{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}. In 2003 the then Mayor of London expressed support for revision of postal addresses in Greater London.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london.gov.uk/mqt/question.do?id=3704|publisher=Greater London Authority|title=Mayor answers to London: London postal address|access-date=24 March 2008}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  Similarly, organisations on the fringes of the London postal district have lobbied to be excluded or included in an attempt to decrease their insurance premiums ([[SE postcode area#Boundaries|SE2→DA7]]) or raise the prestige of their business ([[IG postcode area#London E19|IG1-IG6→E19]]). This is generally futile as Royal Mail changes postcodes only in order to facilitate the delivery of post, and not to illustrate geographical boundaries like the postal services of other countries.<ref>[http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/archive/display.var.334327.0.cracking_the_codes_not_easy.php "Cracking the code's not easy"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526111315/http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/archive/display.var.334327.0.cracking_the_codes_not_easy.php |date=26 May 2008 }}. ''This is Local London'', 12 March 2002.</ref>

The London postal district includes all of the [[City of London]], [[London Borough of Camden|Camden]], [[London Borough of Hackney|Hackney]], [[London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham|Hammersmith and Fulham]], [[London Borough of Haringey|Haringey]], [[London Borough of Islington|Islington]], [[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|Kensington and Chelsea]], [[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]], [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]], [[London Borough of Wandsworth|Wandsworth]] and [[City of Westminster|Westminster]]. Almost entirely included are [[Royal Borough of Greenwich|Greenwich]], [[London Borough of Lambeth|Lambeth]], [[London Borough of Lewisham|Lewisham]], [[London Borough of Newham|Newham]] and [[London Borough of Waltham Forest|Waltham Forest]], except for a few streets. [[London Borough of Barking and Dagenham|Barking and Dagenham]], [[London Borough of Barnet|Barnet]], [[London Borough of Bexley|Bexley]], [[London Borough of Brent|Brent]], [[London Borough of Bromley|Bromley]], [[London Borough of Croydon|Croydon]], [[London Borough of Ealing|Ealing]], [[London Borough of Enfield|Enfield]], [[London Borough of Harrow|Harrow]],<ref>Honeypot Close in the London Borough of Harrow is within NW9 postcode, the only address in the Borough which is inside the London Postal District; see: {{cite web |url=http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=518923&y=189284&z=110&sv=honeypot+close&st=6&tl=Map+of+Honeypot+Close,+London,+NW9&searchp=ids.srf&mapp=map.srf |title=Map of Honeypot Close, London, NW9 |access-date=2010-01-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730120011/http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=518923&y=189284&z=110&sv=honeypot+close&st=6&tl=Map+of+Honeypot+Close,+London,+NW9&searchp=ids.srf&mapp=map.srf |archive-date=30 July 2012 |df=dmy-all }} and {{cite web |url=http://www.harrow.gov.uk/site/custom_scripts/php/myharrow/myharrow.php?n=010070265285&st=s |title=Harrow Council|access-date=2010-01-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616193301/http://www.harrow.gov.uk/site/custom_scripts/php/myharrow/myharrow.php?n=010070265285&st=s |archive-date=16 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[London Borough of Hounslow|Hounslow]], [[Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames|Kingston upon Thames]], [[London Borough of Merton|Merton]], [[London Borough of Redbridge|Redbridge]], and [[London Borough of Richmond upon Thames|Richmond upon Thames]] are partly in the postal district. [[London Borough of Havering|Havering]], [[London Borough of Hillingdon|Hillingdon]] and [[London Borough of Sutton|Sutton]] are completely outside the postal district. [[Sewardstone]], in postal district E4 and in the [[Epping Forest District]] of [[Essex]] is anomalously the only place to be outside Greater London but in the London postal area.

Under early abandoned price differentials it formed the inner area of the '''London postal region''', one now obscure definition of [[Inner London]] &mdash; the term has however lost economic significance from the consumer viewpoint with the standardisation of [[Royal Mail]] pricing.<ref name=inner/>

===Significance===
It is common to use postal sub-districts as placenames in London, particularly in the property market: a property may be described as being "in N11", especially where this can be synonymous with a desirable location but also covers other less prestigious places. Thus sub-districts are a convenient shorthand indicator towards social status,<ref>Calder, S., [https://web.archive.org/web/20080526111415/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19961026/ai_n14084551 "London's in-crowd"]. ''The Independent'' (London), 26 October 1996.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mouseprice.com/area-guide/n11|title=Area and Property Guide for n11 - Mouseprice|website=www.mouseprice.com|access-date=20 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321193025/https://www.mouseprice.com/area-guide/n11|archive-date=21 March 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> such that a 'desirable' postcode may add significantly to the value of property, and property developers have tried to no avail to have [[Royal Mail]] alter the boundaries of postal districts so that new developments will sound as though they are in a richer area, whether in [[capital (economics)|capital]], [[personal income]] or both.

[[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]], which first established the London postal district, then created the narrower [[County of London]] (1889&ndash;1965) and replaced it with the much larger [[Greater London]]. However, there has been very little change in London postal district boundaries. Being in a London postcode inaccurately gives a broad definition of [[Inner London]].<ref>HMSO, ''The Inner London Letter Post''</ref>

===Presentation===
All London postal districts were traditionally prefixed with the [[post town]] 'LONDON' and full stops were commonly placed after each character, e.g. LONDON S.W.1.
Use of the full stops ended with the implementation of the national postcode system {{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}.  In addition, integration of the London postal districts into postcodes means that as postcodes should be on a separate address line<ref>{{cite web |title=How to address your mail |url=https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/81/~/how-to-address-your-mail-%28clear-addressing%29 |publisher=Royal Mail |access-date=28 November 2022}}</ref> (in line with other postcodes in the national system) the postal district should not now appear after LONDON on the same line but as the first part of the full postcode.

The presentation of the postal districts on street signs in London is commonplace, although not universal as each borough is individually responsible for street signs {{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}. Current regulations date from 1952 and were originally for the County of London, but were extended to Greater London in 1965. The section relating to postal districts reads "The appropriate postal district shall be indicated in the nameplate in signal red".<ref>http://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk/document/10759/get{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==List of London postal districts==
:''The postcode district names refer to the original delivery office.<ref name="streets 1930">{{cite web | publisher=[[Office of Public Sector Information|HMSO]] | title=Names of Streets and Places in the London Postal area | url=http://www.londonancestor.com/po/1map-w.htm | year=1930 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041020003542/http://londonancestor.com/po/1map-w.htm | archive-date=20 October 2004 | df=dmy-all | access-date=22 January 2012 }}</ref><ref name="bartholomew1963">[https://www.flickr.com/photos/grepnold/3301761144 Map of London district names and numbers], from the 1963 edition of Bartholomew's Reference Atlas of Greater London</ref> Some postcode districts have been further subdivided. The postcode area articles give the full coverage of each district.''

{| 
| valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable" 
! Postcode area || District<ref name=inner/> || Postcode districts and district names 
|- 
| [[E postcode area|E]] || ''Eastern'' || '''E1 Head district'''<br> E2 Bethnal Green<br> E3 Bow<br> E4 Chingford<br> E5 Clapton<br> E6 East Ham<br>E7 Forest Gate<br> E8 Hackney<br> E9 Homerton<br> E10 Leyton<br> E11 Leytonstone<br>E12 Manor Park<br> E13 Plaistow<br> E14 Poplar<br> E15 Stratford<br> E16 Victoria Docks and North Woolwich<br> E17 Walthamstow<br> E18 Woodford and South Woodford<br> E20 Olympic Park
|- 
| [[EC postcode area|EC]] || ''Eastern Central'' || '''EC1 Head district'''<br>EC2 Bishopsgate<br>EC3 Fenchurch Street<br>EC4 Fleet Street
|- 
| [[N postcode area|N]] || ''Northern'' || '''N1 Head district'''<br> N2 East Finchley<br> N3 Finchley<br> N4 Finsbury Park<br> N5 Highbury<br> N6 Highgate<br> N7 Holloway<br>N8 Hornsey<br> N9 Lower Edmonton<br> N10 Muswell Hill<br> N11 New Southgate<br> N12 North Finchley<br> N13 Palmers Green<br> N14 Southgate<br> N15 South Tottenham<br> N16 Stoke Newington<br> N17 Tottenham<br> N18 Upper Edmonton<br> N19 Upper Holloway<br> N20 Whetstone<br> N21 Winchmore Hill<br> N22 Wood Green
|-
| [[NW postcode area|NW]] || ''North Western'' || '''NW1 Head district'''<br> NW2 Cricklewood<br> NW3 Hampstead<br> NW4 Hendon<br> NW5 Kentish Town<br> NW6 Kilburn<br> NW7 Mill Hill<br>NW8 St John's Wood<br>NW9 The Hyde<br> NW10 Willesden<br> NW11 Golders Green
|-
|}
| valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable" 
! Postcode area || District<ref name=inner/> || Postcode districts and district names 
|-
| [[SE postcode area|SE]] || ''South Eastern'' || '''SE1 Head district'''<br> SE2 Abbey Wood<br> SE3 Blackheath<br> SE4 Brockley<br> SE5 Camberwell<br> SE6 Catford<br> SE7 Charlton<br> SE8 Deptford<br> SE9 Eltham<br> SE10 Greenwich<br> SE11 Kennington<br> SE12 Lee<br> SE13 Lewisham<br> SE14 New Cross<br> SE15 Peckham<br> SE16 Rotherhithe<br> SE17 Walworth<br> SE18 Woolwich<br> SE19 Norwood<br> SE20 Anerley<br> SE21 Dulwich<br> SE22 East Dulwich<br> SE23 Forest Hill<br> SE24 Herne Hill<br> SE25 South Norwood<br> SE26 Sydenham<br> SE27 West Norwood<br> SE28 Thamesmead
|- 
| rowspan="2" | [[SW postcode area|SW]] || ''South Western'' || '''SW1 Head district'''<br> SW2 Brixton<br> SW3 Chelsea<br> SW4 Clapham<br> SW5 Earls Court<br> SW6 Fulham<br> SW7 South Kensington<br> SW8 South Lambeth<br> SW9 Stockwell<br> SW10 West Brompton
|-
| ''Battersea'' || '''SW11 Head district'''<br> SW12 Balham<br> SW13 Barnes<br> SW14 Mortlake<br> SW15 Putney<br> SW16 Streatham<br> SW17 Tooting<br> SW18 Wandsworth<br> SW19 Wimbledon<br> SW20 West Wimbledon
|- 
| rowspan="2" | [[W postcode area|W]] || ''Western'' || '''W1 Head district'''
|- 
| ''Paddington'' || '''W2 Head district'''<br> W3 Acton<br> W4 Chiswick<br> W5 Ealing<br> W6 Hammersmith<br> W7 Hanwell<br> W8 Kensington<br> W9 Maida Hill<br> W10 Ladbroke Grove<br> W11 Notting Hill<br> W12 Shepherds Bush<br> W13 West Ealing<br> W14 West Kensington
|- 
| [[WC postcode area|WC]] || ''Western Central'' || '''WC1 Head district'''<br>WC2 Strand 
|}
|}

==Map==
{{Attached KML|display=inline}}
{{Postcode area imagemap|map=LONDON|size=550x550px}}
[[File:LONDON post town inset map.svg|thumb|none|550x550px|Detailed map of postcode districts in central London]]

The area covered is {{convert|241|sqmi|km2}}.<ref name=inner>{{Cite book|url=http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1980/122inner_lon_let_post.htm |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120119165017/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1980/122inner_lon_let_post.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=19 January 2012 |title=The Inner London Letter Post: A Report on the Letter Post Service in the Area comprising the Numbered London Postal Districts |author=Monopolies and Mergers Commission |author-link=Monopolies and Mergers Commission |date=31 March 1980 |publisher=[[Her Majesty's Stationery Office]] |isbn=0-10-251580-8 |access-date=14 June 2012}}</ref>

==London postal region==

The [[E postcode area|E]], [[EC postcode area|EC]], [[N postcode area|N]], [[NW postcode area|NW]], [[SE postcode area|SE]], [[SW postcode area|SW]], [[W postcode area|W]] and [[WC postcode area|WC]] postcode areas (the eight London postal districts) comprise the ''inner area of the London postal region'' and correspond to the London [[post town]].

The [[BR postcode area|BR]], [[CM postcode area|CM]], [[CR postcode area|CR]], [[DA postcode area|DA]], [[EN postcode area|EN]], [[HA postcode area|HA]], [[IG postcode area|IG]], [[SL postcode area|SL]], [[TN postcode area|TN]], [[KT postcode area|KT]], [[RM postcode area|RM]], [[SM postcode area|SM]], [[TW postcode area|TW]], [[UB postcode area|UB]], and [[WD postcode area|WD]] (the 15 outer London postcode areas) comprise the ''outer area of the London postal region''.<ref name=outer>''The Inner London Letter Post'', {{usurped|1=[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120119212837/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1980/fulltext/122appendices.pdf Annex 2]}}, map of the London Postal Region (page 106).</ref><!-- Note: In the 1980 source map of outer area districts, the boundaries within the current combined AL/EN/WD areas are split differently from the current postcode areas (and labelled Barnet, Enfield, St. Albans, Watford); and the current KT/TW/UB postcode areas are each mapped there as two districts (Kingston upon Thames/Epsom, Twickenham/Hounslow, Uxbridge/Southall); but the combined outer area does correspond to the current combined area of the 13 listed postcode areas. Too confusing to mention in the article! -->

The inner and outer areas together comprised the '''London postal region.'''<ref name=inner/>

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

== External links ==
'''Additional information'''
* [https://archive.today/20121224045050/http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/page/postcode Postcodes], British Postal Museum and Archive


'''Maps'''
* [http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/1859map/ Map of London in 1859 with NE and S districts shown]
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/%7Enmfa/Maps/pocket_atlas_and_guide_to_london/paagtl1900plate3.html Map of districts in 1900]
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/grepnold/3301761144 Map of London district names and numbers], from the 1963 edition of Bartholomew's Reference Atlas of 

{{London postcode areas}}

{{UK postal system}}

[[Category:London-related lists|Postal district]]
[[Category:Postcodes in the United Kingdom]]