post codes

[spacejesus]

what do uk postcodes mean?

[OBonio]

They pinpoint an area. As a general rule, the first two letters represent the nearest main sorting depot (SN = Swindon, M=Manchester etc). The number after that sometimes relates to the mileage from the depot the area is (this may in fact be a coincidence in my post code). The last 3 digits are just indicators and have no meaning as far as I know. London postcodes are different. The first 1 or 2 letters indicate the area of London (N=North, NW=North West etc). That's all I know.

[pinus]

There's more detail here. http://www.evoxfacilities.co.uk/evoxps.htm I have seen a very clear, well-illustrated explanation, but cannot find it on the web - perhaps it was in a book of maps or the Postcode Guide. There are two parts to a postcode - outward and inward The outward part gives the Area and District thus M60 = Manchester Area; District 60 PO3 = Portsmouth Area; District 3 There is no consistency on format of the outward part, which can have either one or two letters followed by either one or two digits (and a further inconsistency with Central London where you get such forms as W1A or EC1A) The inward part identifies the Sector and Walk The inward part is always one digit and two letters. 9FP = Sector 9; Walk FP Long roads are broken into shorter lengths, so you might find Smith Street odds 1-51 8FP odds 51-91 8FR evens 2-50 8FT evens 52-98 8FS Some towns already had numbered postal districts before postcodes were introduced, and you usually find that the old postal district numbers have been carried forward into the postcodes. So the old Sheffield 5 postal district now has postcodes beginning S5 , for instance.

[spacejesus]

Hi, Thanks for the replies. The link above states that the BT in Northern Irish postcodes stands for Belfast. However this prefix is used all over N.I. and I have been told that BT stands for British Territory. Does Anyone know if that's true?

[pinus]

If you look at the postcode map you will see that BT is the code for the whole of Northern Ireland. Codes are by AREA, not town. So in South Yorkshire, Barnsley and Rotherham have Sheffield postcodes, as do Worksop in Nottinghamshire and Chesterfield in Derbyshire.

[IndieSinger]

... hence I have a Scottish post code but live in England.

[David H]

I'll add some more bits and pieces. Every postcode stands for something (North, North West etc within London) or somewhere outside except IG for West Essex, and SM, though I was told it was for Sutton and Merton. All numbers are usually arranged in alphabetical order following 1 for central. So Whitefield, being near the end is Manchester M 45. Some centres became so big they were split in two, where the extra code is designated 0, as in CR0 (central Croydon) or HA0, part of Wembley (this makes little sense as it's not in the centre of Harrow at all). In London three postal areas grew too big and were split in two, NW4/NW11 SW19/20 and SE2/28, so the final number is not in alphabetical order but an addition. Finally one of the two S codes was divided in two aplhabetically, I think it's SW.

[Maude]

Postcodes are essentially a WW2 invention of necessity. We were ultimately able to retaliate for the blitzes on London, Bath, Bristol, Plymouth, Coventry, Sheffield etc etc with such what-ho that the swines did not know where anything was.

[Maude]

The first sentence should have read "Postcodes are essentially a WW2 Nazi invention of necessity".

[spacejesus]

Wow! Thanks everyone. This was my first question posting and I must say I'm amazed by the response. Cheers for the help.

[tommo]

post codes are a similar thing to zip codes in the USA