On 8 Aug, 00:44, Mizter T wrote:
On Aug 7, 11:16*pm, wrote:





In article wQj7o.58103$X%4.19734@hurricane, (Roy
Badami) wrote:

On 07/08/10 21:57, Mizter T wrote:

Sure - if we're going by postal counties, then the list on the ABC
website is a nonsense I think - all London postcodes (NW, N, E, W, SW,
SW, WC, EC) are in the post town of "London", and I don't think the
post town of London belongs to any postal county, let alone multiple
postal counties (so "NW4 xxx, Middlesex" for an address in Hendon was
never strictly speaking a correct address).

Yes, the site does actually say: "County names have never been a
part of recommended postal addresses within the "LONDON" postal
area. In fact, the "LONDON" postal area presents something of a
challenge to those who seek to use County names within it."

http://abcounties.co.uk/bpa/bpasection2.htm

To amplify my earlier comment on why their London data is utter oblox, the
use of counties in London is obsolete but they overlook completely that
each London postal district also has a name. They give SW19 as an example
and suggest:

Highbury Road
LONDON
Surrey
SW19 7PR

That example should of course be:

Highbury Road
Wimbledon
LONDON
SW19 7PR

if what is wanted is a more localised address than just "London SW19".

Sorry but I quite strongly disagree with that - I don't think there
has ever been a widespread convention let alone a requirement whereby
the precise London postal district name features in an address.

There are far too many examples in London where the name of the postal
district doesn't properly represent the commonly understood names of
the districts / neighbourhoods / areas it encompasses - in other words
the postal district name isn't coterminous with all the places it
covers are actually known as (though it may reach the levels of being
a broad approximation thereof - and in ambiguous cases people might
fall back on the postcode divide in order to say place a road or an
address in neighbourhood a or neighbourhood b when really it's on the
edge of both).

Don't get me wrong, I do like using a district name for addresses in
London no doubt - it helps to provide for a sense of place - but
merely relying on the postal district name might result in a misplaced
sense of place! Thus I tend to regard postal district names as a guide
rather than an authoritative word.

(Of course, place names can change and shift over time - in a process
that I think is perhaps *somewhat more complex than merely reflecting
the latest whims of estate agents and of gentrification - but that is
I suggest a whole other discussion!)


My insight into the Royal Mail's idea of a "correct" London address
was when I had a redirection in 1993, and they used only

number road
LONDON
postcode

so I've taken that as being "correct" ever since and not stuck in
"Wimbledon", "Catford" or anything else, even though I did use such a
district name as a child in London and had assumed it was correct.