Places in London that you've never heard of before

[lang rabbie]

Do the post office actually call W2 Bayswater though? It is indeed done alphabetically. W2 will be called something else by the Royal Mail.

W1 is the Western Head District
W2 is (was?) the Paddington Head District
the alphabetical suburban sorting offices start with W3

 

[rennie]

Because NE is the postcode for Newcastle.

thank you thank you thank you!

 

[maomao]

And S must be Sheffield, right? That's just cleared up a 20 year mystery for me.

 

[trashpony]

And S must be Sheffield, right? That's just cleared up a 20 year mystery for me.

I have been mocked for raising this postcode thingy but it's actually quite interesting isn't it? See? See?


*now where did I leave my raincoat*

 

[lang rabbie]

Marginally more accurate history of London postal districts here...

 

[trashpony]

Marginally more accurate history of London postal districts here...

Will you marry me?

 

[java1200]

And S must be Sheffield, right? That's just cleared up a 20 year mystery for me.

Yes, S is Sheffield.

 

[java1200]

W1 and W2 and WC/EC don't work. Everything else does though. Honest.
I now live in Brondesbury. Which most people haven't heard of either.

You lie!

NW10 Willesden | NW11 Golders Green

I know where Brondesbury is; I live just down the road in Queen's Park or West Kilburn as i like to call it.

 

[trashpony]

You lie!

NW10 Willesden | NW11 Golders Green

I know where Brondesbury is; I live just down the road in Queen's Park or West Kilburn as i like to call it.

Wiki says:
NW11 (Golders Green) seems to be out of the usual alphabetical order, possibly because its post office was referred to as Willifield Green, which would come alphabetically after Willesden.

West Kilburn pah! Proper Kilburn is where it's at

 

[TeeJay]

There's a probably some places I haven't heard of before - but since I haven't heard of them I don't have a clue what they are, innit?

 

[KellyDJ]

A cursory glance at my A to Z comes up with such hidden gems as Benhilton, Lampton, Sipson, Osidge and Lonesome

I've heard of Osidge before. I think it's somewhere in southgate or near to. I may be wrong though

 

[KellyDJ]

I work near there and haven't seen that.. although there is an Ave Maria Lane.

I work in that area too and I haven't heard of Amen corner. I know Ave Maria Lane very well though

 

[maomao]

I've heard of Osidge before. I think it's somewhere in southgate or near to. I may be wrong though

You're thinking of Ossidge Lane in Southgate on which standts the OSsidge arms. I've never heard it used to describe an actual area though. (and I spent 3 years controlling a cab company in Southgate so I think I would have if it was in common use)

 

[zcat]

Angell Town - I though 'ooh what a nice name' when I heard it

nice name wouldnt want to live there squatted a flat there once put locks on and everything went back next day took em off didnt even stay one night
mind you was in mid 80s when it was really hardcorely rough

 

[zcat]

Indeed. But postcodes are alphabetical. Except for central London. Honest.

And PLEASE don't draw attention to my complete nerdiness

Well I always thought that postcodes went in a spiral out of central london

 

[KellyDJ]

You're thinking of Ossidge Lane in Southgate on which standts the OSsidge arms. I've never heard it used to describe an actual area though. (and I spent 3 years controlling a cab company in Southgate so I think I would have if it was in common use)

Ah perhaps that's what it is. There's a school called Osidge as well. I think that's where I got confused.

 

[TeeJay]

Well I always thought that postcodes went in a spiral out of central london

Unfortunately nothing so logical:

SW1 and SE1 etc are all in the centre, but after that the numbers start jumping around seemingly randomly:

For example:
E4, N2, N3, SE2, SE3, SW2, W3, NW2

nb - anyone know where E12 has got to - does it even exist?

 

[marty21]

i'd never heard of temple fortune, until i moved there in 91 (it's up the road from golders green) and never heard of clapton until i moved to hackney, and then ended up moving to clapton...

came across st john, in the paper the other day, never heard of it, it's down near new cross/lewisham...

 

[zcat]

Unfortunately nothing so logical:

SW1 and SE1 etc are all in the centre, but after that the numbers start jumping around seemingly randomly:

For example:
E4, N2, N3, SE2, SE3, SW2, W3, NW2

nb - anyone know where E12 has got to - does it even exist?

oh it seems so, how weird, maybe they got a spider on caffeine to design it

 

[spanglechick]

The only people who've heard of Selhurst seem to think it's near Crystal Palace (football thing). That included me til I moved here. Even the post office refuse to acknowledge it's existance and insist it's S. Norwood. But it has it's own railway station. Honest.

 

[oryx]

The only people who've heard of Selhurst seem to think it's near Crystal Palace (football thing). That included me til I moved here. Even the post office refuse to acknowledge it's existance and insist it's S. Norwood. But it has it's own railway station. Honest.

I know Selhurst - used to work nearby!

What is interesting is the way place names change over the years. There was a rather good article in Smoke magazine once about an area called Hatcham, which IIRC is around the New Cross/Telegraph Hill area, whose name is no longer in common usage. Also Walham Green (Fulham) has gone out of use although Fulham Broadway station was once known by this name. The "Town" is now dropped off Camden.

 

[Zinedine*]

Unfortunately nothing so logical:

SW1 and SE1 etc are all in the centre, but after that the numbers start jumping around seemingly randomly:

For example:
E4, N2, N3, SE2, SE3, SW2, W3, NW2

nb - anyone know where E12 has got to - does it even exist?

That is crazy I have always believed the same as zcat. My nan told me that and Ive always used London postcodes to judge how near the centre an address is. But looking at the map I have always wondered why docklands was E14

 

[Zinedine*]

Ive just checked and there is indeed an E12, Its Manor Park
evidence here

 

[Final]

it's ponders end by another name. Apparently part of Harrow is called @Roxeth' but I can't see it meself

That's not a very big area, and the name hasn't been used so much in hte last 15 years, as the core of that area was demolished to stick up an overpass (the one near the BP garage).

There's still a school which bears the name. Though I always used to get confused as people insist on pronouncing it as 'Rooks Heath' ???

 

[Final]

I'd never heard of Little Venice until about a month ago... so cycled down the Grand Union to have a look for myself... tiz true, it does exist.

 

[Harold Hill]

I have a mate who lives in "Brackenbury Village" - the area between Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush that is to the West of Shepherds Bush Road.

That must be estate-agent speak - it doesn't look very village-y.

Its just a road. Pals that live there say they live in Shepherds Bush.

 

[Harold Hill]

Unfortunately nothing so logical:

SW1 and SE1 etc are all in the centre, but after that the numbers start jumping around seemingly randomly:

For example:
E4, N2, N3, SE2, SE3, SW2, W3, NW2

nb - anyone know where E12 has got to - does it even exist?

It goes in alphabetical order after 1.

Example SE1 - South east Central
SE2 - Abbey Wood

Its probably not perfect though. Doesn't explain why W2 is Paddington and W3 Acton.

 

[TeeJay]

"The system of London postal districts predated the introduction of postcodes throughout the United Kingdom in the 1960s. The first system, of ten sectors identified by letters, was introduced in 1858; the numbered subdivisions date from 1917. The 1917 subdivisions remain important, because they form the first part of the two-part modern postcode (so N1 1AA is an address in the old N1 district), and because they continue to be used by Londoners to refer to their districts."

"The London postal districts rarely coincide with the boundaries of the London boroughs (even the older, smaller metropolitan boroughs). The numbering system also appears arbitrary on the map: for example, NW1 is close to central London, but NW2 is a long way out. This is because (after starting with 1 for the area closest to the centre) they were numbered alphabetically by the name of the main sorting office."

"The BBC soap opera EastEnders is set in the fictional postal district of E20."

"A further complication is that in some of the most central London areas, a further gradation has been necessary to produce enough postcodes, giving unusual codes like EC1A 1AA. While most postcodes are allocated by administrative convenience, a few are deliberately chosen. For example in Westminster:

* SW1A 0AA - House of Commons
* SW1A 0PW - House of Lords, Palace of Westminster
* SW1A 1AA - 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 2HQ - HM Treasury headquarters"

"All Head District Sorting Offices, except London South East, were connected by and had stations on the Post Office Underground Railway."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcode#Postcode_history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_postal_district

 

[TeeJay]

Its probably not perfect though. Doesn't explain why W2 is Paddington and W3 Acton.

Maybe the actual sorting offices had different names (ie something different from Paddington and Acton)?

 

[William of Walworth]

A former postman writes ...

It goes in alphabetical order after 1.

Example SE1 - South east Central
SE2 - Abbey Wood

Its probably not perfect though. Doesn't explain why W2 is Paddington and W3 Acton.

W2 is officially 'Bayswater' ...