Postcodes

Most property adverts and estate agents in London refer at some point to the postcode of the area the property is in which can be confusing if you’re not used to the system. Basically, all London postcodes are made up of two different sections. Take the following as an example :

SE1 3RN

The first part refers to the general area the property is in and, as a rule, it is this part you will find in property adverts. The second part refers to the street and location of the property on that street. The prefixes of the first part are straightforward (for example SW refers to South West) and give the general part of London, whereas the number gives a more specific location. However, geographically the numbering appears arbitary as, for instance, NW1 is central whereas NW2 is far out and does not border NW1. This is because when the numbered system was first introduced in 1917, the postcodes numbered 1 (E1, NW1, W1, SW1, SE1) were most central and the subsequent numbers assigned alphabetically by the name of the district they represented. The exceptions to this are the central London postcodes of EC and WC ('east central', 'west central').

Click on the thumbnail below to see our London postcode map, which shows the average rentals too:

Below is a list of the London postcodes and areas they represent.

EC
EC1	Aldersgate, Finsbury, Holborn
EC2	Bishopsgate, Cheapside
EC3	Aldgate
EC4	St. Paul’s
E
E1	Whitechapel, Shoreditch
E2	Bethnal Green
E3	Bow
E4	Chingford
E5	Clapton, Homerton
E6	East Ham
E7	Forest Gate
E8	Dalston
E9	Homerton
E10	Leyton
E11	Leytonstone
E12	Manor Park
E13	Plaistow
E14	Poplar (Isle of Dogs)
E15	Stratford, West Ham
E16	Victoria Docks, North Woolwich
E17	Walthamstow
E18	South Woodford
E20	Walford (just kidding - this is the fictional postcode where the soap opera Eastenders is set)

NW
NW1	Regent’s Park, St. Pancras
NW2	Cricklewood, Dollis Hill
NW3	Hampstead
NW4	Hendon
NW5	Kentish Town
NW6	Maida Vale, Kilburn
NW7	Mill Hill
NW8	St. John’s Wood
NW9	Colindale
NW10	Willesden
NW11	Golders Green
SE
SE1	Borough, Waterloo
SE2	Abbey Wood
SE3	Blackheath
SE4	Brockley
SE5	Camberwell
SE6	Catford
SE7	Charlton
SE8	Deptford
SE9	Eltham
SE10	Greenwich
SE11	Kennington
SE12	Lee
SE13	Lewisham
SE14	New Cross
SE15	Peckham
SE16	Bermondsey, Rotherhithe
SE17	Walworth
SE18	Plumstead
SE19	Crystal Palace
SE20	Penge
SE21, SE22	Dulwich
SE23	Forest Hill
SE24	Herne Hill
SE25	Norwood
SE26	Sydenham
SE27	West Norwood
SE28	Thamesmead
WC
WC1	Bloomsbury, High Holborn
WC2	Strand, Holborn
W
W1	West End
W2	Bayswater, Paddington
W3	Acton
W4	Chiswick
W5	Ealing
W6	Hammersmith
W7	Hanwell
W8	Holland Park
W9	Maida Vale, Paddington
W10	North Kensington
W11	Notting Hill
W12	Shepherd’s Bush
W13	West Ealing
W14	West Kensington

N
N1	Angel
N2	East Finchley
N3	Finchley
N4	Finsbury Park
N5	Highbury
N6	Highgate
N7	Holloway
N8	Hornsey, Crouch End
N9	Lower Edmonton
N10	Muswell Hill
N11	New Southgate
N12	North Finchley
N13	Palmers Green
N14	Southgate
N15	Stamford Hill, South Tottenham
N16	Stoke Newington
N17	Tottenham
N18	Upper Edmonton
N19	Upper Holloway
N20	Whetstone
N21	Winchmore Hill
N22	Wood Green
SW
SW1	Westminster, Victoria
SW2	Brixton
SW3	Chelsea
SW4	Clapham
SW5	Earl’s Court, West Brompton
SW6	Fulham
SW7	South Kensington, Knightsbridge
SW8	South Lambeth
SW9	Stockwell
SW10	West Brompton, Chelsea
SW11	Battersea
SW12	Balham
SW13	Barnes
SW14	Mortlake
SW15	Putney
SW16	Streatham
SW17	Tooting
SW18	West Wandsworth
SW19	Wimbledon
SW20	West Wimbledon