Coordinates: 51°27′43″N 0°10′08″W / 51.462°N 0.169°W / 51.462; -0.169

London SW postcode area
SW
Postcode area	SW
Postcode area name	London SW
Post towns	1
Postcode districts	29
Postcode sectors	139
Postcodes (live)	21,046
Postcodes (total)	34,726
Statistics as at February 2012[1]

The SW (South Western and Battersea) postcode area, also known as the London SW postcode area^[2], is a group of postcode districts covering part of southwest London, England. The area originates from the South Western (SW1–SW10) and Battersea (SW11–SW20) districts^[3] of the London post town.

Postal administration [link]

The postcode area originated in 1857 as the SW district. In 1868 it gained some of the area of the abolished S district, with the rest going to SE. It was divided into numbered districts in 1917.^[4] The South Western district^[3] consists of the postcode districts SW1–SW10^[3] and the Battersea district^[3] consists of the postcode districts SW11–SW20.^[5] SW99 is a non-geographic postcode used for large businesses in the SW9 district.^[2] The postcode area is part of the London post town^[2] and there are no dependent localities required in the area.^[2]

List of postcode districts [link]

The approximate coverage of the postcode districts, with the historic postal district names shown in italics:^[5]

SW1 [link]

SW1 was originally the South Western head district. It is of very high density development and has been relatively recently divided into smaller postcode districts. Where districts are used for purposes other than the sorting of mail, such as use as a geographic reference and on street signs, the SW1 subdivisions continue to be classed as one 'district'. Within the SW1 postcode district there are several distinctive postcode units:

Boundaries [link]

The South Western postcode area includes postcode districts on both sides of the River Thames. The SW1 postcode district covers the area of central London on the north bank of the River Thames, roughly between Hungerford Bridge and Chelsea Bridge. It includes Pimlico, Belgravia and parts of Westminster and Brompton. It contains Whitehall, Westminster Abbey, Westminster School, the Tate Gallery, Dolphin Square and Thames House. SW2–SW10 form the inner northeastern part of the postcode area, with the SW3, SW5, SW6, SW7 and SW10 districts north of the river. SW11–SW20 forms the outer southwestern part of the postcode area and is entirely south of the River Thames. The postcode area includes all of the London Borough of Wandsworth, the western portion of the London Borough of Lambeth, the southern sections of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the northeastern area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the northern sections of the London Borough of Merton and London Borough of Croydon.

Adjacent areas [link]

Adjacent postcode areas
	W
TW	SW	SE
KT	SM	CR

Clockwise from the east, the adjacent postcode areas are: SE (London SE), CR (Croydon), SM (Sutton), KT (Kingston upon Thames), TW (Twickenham), W (London W).

References [link]

External links [link]