W postcode area

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title: "W postcode area" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["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"] description: "Postcode area within the United Kingdom" topic_path: "general/postcode-areas-covering-london" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W_postcode_area" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Postcode area within the United Kingdom ::

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 mi 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: |- ! W1A | London | PO boxes & Admail codes in W1

non-geographic
! W1B
London
Portland Place, Regent Street
Westminster
-
! W1C
London
Oxford Street (west)
Westminster
-
! W1D
London
Soho (south east); Chinatown, Soho Square
Westminster
-
! W1F
London
Soho (north west)
Westminster
-
! W1G
London
Harley Street
Westminster
-
! W1H
London
Marylebone
Westminster
-
! W1J
London
Mayfair (south), Piccadilly
Westminster
-
! W1K
London
Mayfair (north), Grosvenor Square
Westminster
-
! W1S
London
Mayfair (east), Hanover Square, Savile Row, Royal Academy
Westminster
-
! W1T
London
Fitzrovia, Tottenham Court Road
Camden
-
! W1U
London
Marylebone
Westminster
-
! W1W
London
East Marylebone, Great Portland Street, Fitzrovia
Westminster
-
! W2
London
Paddington head district: Paddington, Bayswater, Hyde Park, Westbourne Green, Little Venice (part), Notting Hill (part)
-
! W3
London
Acton district: Acton, West Acton, North Acton (part), South Acton, East Acton (west), Park Royal (south), Hanger Hill Garden Estate, Gunnersbury Park
-
! W4
London
Chiswick district: Chiswick, Gunnersbury, Turnham Green, Acton Green, South Acton (part), Bedford Park
-
! W5
London
Ealing district: Ealing, South Ealing, Ealing Common, North Ealing, Northfields, (south and east), Pitshanger, Hanger Lane
-
! W6
London
Hammersmith district: Fulham, Hammersmith, Ravenscourt Park, Stamford Brook (part)
-
! W7
London
Hanwell district: Hanwell, Boston Manor (part)
-
! W8
London
Kensington district: Kensington, Holland Park (part)
-
! W9
London
Maida Hill district: Maida Hill, Maida Vale, Queen's Park (part), West Kilburn
-
! W10
London
North Kensington district: Ladbroke Grove, Kensal Town, Queen's Park (part),
-
! W11
London
Notting Hill district: Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove (part), Holland Park (part)
-
! W12
London
Shepherds Bush district: Shepherd's Bush, White City, Wormwood Scrubs, East Acton (east)
-
! W13
London
West Ealing district: West Ealing, Northfields (north and west)
-
! W14
London
West Kensington district: West Kensington, Kensington Olympia, Holland Park
}

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

References

References

1. Royal Mail. (2004). "Address Management Guide". Royal Mail Group.
2. Monopolies and Mergers Commission. (1980). "The Inner London Letter Post". [[Office of Public Sector Information.
3. (1930). "Names of Streets and Places in the London Postal area". [[Office of Public Sector Information.
4. Royal Mail. (18 April 2007). "Royal Mail major recode historical information – 2000 to March 2007".
5. [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
6. (July 2012). "Non Geographic Codes". Royal Mail Address Management Unit.

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