View source for W postcode area

{{Short description|Postcode area within the United Kingdom}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox UK postcode area|area_code=W}}

The '''W (Western and Paddington) postcode area''', also known as the '''London W postcode area'''<ref name=guide>{{cite book | publisher=Royal Mail Group | title=Address Management Guide | year=2004 | edition=4 | author=Royal Mail | author-link=Royal Mail }}</ref> 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<ref name="ILLP">{{ cite book | title=The Inner London Letter Post | year=1980 | author=Monopolies and Mergers Commission | publisher=[[Office of Public Sector Information|HMSO]] | url=http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1980/122inner_lon_let_post.htm | author-link=Competition Commission | url-status=usurped | archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120119165017/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1980/122inner_lon_let_post.htm | archive-date=19 January 2012 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> of the [[London postal district]]. This area covers 35 postcode districts and around 18,554 live postcodes.

==Postal administration==
The Western district<ref name="ILLP"/> consists of the single original W1 postal district.<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 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="recode 2000">{{Cite FTP | title=Royal Mail major recode historical information – 2000 to March 2007 | url=ftp://ftp.royalmail.com/Downloads/public/ctf/rm/18apr07_MajorRecodes_from_2000.pdf | date= 18 April 2007 | access-date= 1 April 2010 | author=Royal Mail | server=Royal Mail Group | url-status=dead | author-link=Royal Mail }}</ref>

The [[mail centre]] for W1 is [[Mount Pleasant Mail Centre|London Central]], and that for W2-14 is [[Greenford]].

Deliveries for W1 (and for [[WC postcode area|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<ref name="ILLP"/> has 13 postcode districts (W2–14).<ref name="streets 1930"/> 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 {{convert|6.5|mi|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'':<ref name="streets 1930"/><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>{{postcode area table start}}
<onlyinclude> <!-- Top of table -->
|-
! W1A
| London
| [[PO box]]es & Admail codes in W1<ref name="nongeo1207">{{Cite web |url=http://www.poweredbypaf.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/12July_current_non-geos-original.pdf |title=Non Geographic Codes |publisher=Royal Mail Address Management Unit |date=July 2012 |access-date=25 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916141140/http://www.poweredbypaf.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/12July_current_non-geos-original.pdf |archive-date=16 September 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| ''[[Non-geographic postcode|non-geographic]]''
|-
! W1B
| London
| Portland Place, [[Regent Street]]
| [[City of Westminster|Westminster]]
|-
! W1C
| London
| [[Oxford Street]] (west)
| Westminster
|-
! W1D
| London
| [[Soho]] (south east); [[Chinatown, London|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, London|Hanover Square]], [[Savile Row]], [[Royal Academy]]
| Westminster
|-
! W1T
| London
| [[Fitzrovia]], [[Tottenham Court Road]]
| [[London Borough of Camden|Camden]]
|-
! W1U
| London
| [[Marylebone]]
| Westminster
|-
! W1W
| London
| East Marylebone, [[Great Portland Street]], [[Fitzrovia]]
| Westminster
|-
! W2
| London
| ''Paddington head district:'' [[Paddington]], [[Bayswater]], [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], [[Westbourne Green]], [[Maida Vale#Little Venice|Little Venice]] (part), [[Notting Hill]] (part) || Westminster, [[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|Kensington and Chelsea]]
|-
! W3
| London
| ''Acton district:'' [[Acton, London|Acton]], [[West Acton]], [[North Acton]] (part), [[South Acton, London|South Acton]], [[East Acton]] (west), [[Park Royal]] (south), Hanger Hill Garden Estate, [[Gunnersbury Park]] || [[London Borough of Ealing|Ealing]], [[London Borough of Hounslow|Hounslow]], [[London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham|Hammersmith and Fulham]]
|-
! W4
| London
| ''Chiswick district:'' [[Chiswick]], [[Gunnersbury]], [[Turnham Green]], [[Acton Green, London|Acton Green]], South Acton (part), [[Bedford Park, London|Bedford Park]] || Hounslow, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham
|-
! W5
| London
| ''Ealing district:'' [[Ealing]], South Ealing, [[Ealing Common]], North Ealing, [[Northfields, London|Northfields]], (south and east), [[Pitshanger]], Hanger Lane || Ealing, Hounslow
|-
! W6
| London
| ''Hammersmith district:'' [[Fulham]], [[Hammersmith]], [[Ravenscourt Park]], Stamford Brook (part)|| Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow
|-
! W7
| London
| ''Hanwell district:'' [[Hanwell]], [[Boston Manor]] (part) || Ealing
|-
! W8
| London
| ''Kensington district:'' [[Kensington]], [[Holland Park]] (part) || Kensington and Chelsea
|-
! W9
| London
| ''Maida Hill district:'' [[Maida Hill]], [[Maida Vale]], [[Queen's Park, London|Queen's Park]] (part), West Kilburn || Westminster, [[London Borough of Brent|Brent]], Camden
|-
! W10
| London
| ''North Kensington district:'' [[Ladbroke Grove]], [[Kensal Town]], [[Queen's Park, London|Queen's Park]] (part), || Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Brent
|-
! W11
| London
| ''Notting Hill district:'' [[Notting Hill]], [[Ladbroke Grove]] (part), [[Holland Park]] (part) || Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham
|-
! W12
| London
| ''Shepherds Bush district:'' [[Shepherd's Bush]], [[White City, London|White City]], [[Wormwood Scrubs]], [[East Acton]] (east) || Hammersmith and Fulham
|-
! W13
| London
| ''West Ealing district:'' [[West Ealing]], [[Northfields, London|Northfields]] (north and west) || Ealing
|-
! W14
| London
| ''West Kensington district:'' [[West Kensington]], [[Olympia, London|Kensington Olympia]], [[Holland Park]] || Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea
</onlyinclude> <!-- Bottom of table -->
|}

==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 [[London Borough of Ealing|Ealing]] and [[London Borough of Hounslow|Hounslow]], as well as very small parts of the London Boroughs of [[London Borough of Brent|Brent]] and Camden.

==In popular culture==
The TV series ''[[W1A (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==
{{Attached KML|display=inline}}
{{Postcode area imagemap|map=W postcode area|size=550x275px}}

==See also==
*[[Postcode Address File]]
*[[List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom]]
*[[London postal district]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{div col}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite postcode project|W1|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103030159/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W1.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W2|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923043842/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W2.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W3|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923043848/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W3.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W4|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923043911/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W4.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W5|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923044043/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W5.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W6|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923044109/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W6.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W7|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923044132/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W7.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W8|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923044233/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W8.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W9|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20121216063142/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W9.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W10|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924065758/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W10.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W11|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924065830/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W11.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W12|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924065903/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W12.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W13|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117025752/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W13.html}}
*{{cite postcode project|W14|archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924070107/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/W14.html}}
{{refend}}
{{div col end}}

{{Postcode areas in the United Kingdom}}
{{London postcode areas}}

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