Postal addresses: a little history and a lot of photos

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HP

The HP postcode area is based on Hemel Hempstead and extends southward, westward and northward from there – but barely at all eastward. Much more of the area is in Buckinghamshire than in Hertfordshire.

HP1-3 – postal address HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, Herts.
HP4 – postal address BERKHAMSTED, Herts.
HP5 – postal address CHESHAM, Bucks.


HP6-7 – postal address AMERSHAM, Bucks.
HP8 – postal address CHALFONT ST. GILES, Bucks.
HP9 – postal address BEACONSFIELD, Bucks.


HP10-15 – postal address HIGH WYCOMBE, Bucks.
HP16 – postal address GREAT MISSENDEN, Bucks.



HP17-22 – postal address AYLESBURY, Bucks.
HP23– postal address TRING, Herts.
HP27 – postal address PRINCES RISBOROUGH, Bucks. (separated from AYLESBURY, HP17, in May 1992)

HR

HR stands for Hereford and is this is one of the postcode areas which most closely matches its associated county: all its post towns are in Herefordshire and all of Herefordshire's post towns fall within HR. (LE and NN have similarly coterminous boundaries.)

Within the HEREFORD post town itself, HR1 covers the city centre and the rural east; HR2 towards the rural south/southwest; HR3 is in the rural far west; and HR4 heads towards the rural north/northwest.

HR3 does include a small area around Hay-on-Wye, in Powys, and likewise HR5 around Gladestry.

HR1-4 – postal address HEREFORD


HR5 – postal address KINGTON, Herefordshire
HR6 – postal address LEOMINSTER, Herefordshire
HR7 – postal address BROMYARD, Herefordshire
HR8 – postal address LEDBURY, Herefordshire
HR9 – postal address ROSS-ON-WYE, Herefordshire

HS

HS is the UK's newest postcode area, having been created in 1995, before which the Outer Hebrides used a PA postcode. The numbering of the HS districts is in reverse order to the old PA numbers. At the same time, apart from in the Stornoway town area, the place-name post towns were changed to the island names.

HS1 – postal address STORNOWAY, Isle of Lewis (PA87 until Jan. 1995)
HS2 – postal address ISLE OF LEWIS (PA86 until Jan. 1995)
HS3 – postal address ISLE OF HARRIS (HARRIS, Isle of Harris, PA85 until Jan. 1995)
HS4 – postal address ISLE OF SCALPAY (PA84 until Jan. 1995)
HS5 – postal address ISLE OF HARRIS (LEVERBURGH, Isle of Harris, PA83 until Jan. 1995)


HS6 – postal address ISLE OF NORTH UIST (LOCHMADDY, Isle of North Uist, PA82 (part) until Jan. 1995)
HS7 – postal address ISLE OF BENBECULA (PA82 (part) until Jan. 1995)
HS8 – postal address ISLE OF SOUTH UIST (LOCHBOISDALE, Isle of South Uist, PA81 until Jan. 1995)
HS9 – postal address ISLE OF BARRA (CASTLEBAY, Isle of Barra, PA80 until Jan. 1995)

HU

The HU area concerns itself with Kingston-upon-Hull, or simply HULL as it is postally. The area covers the surroundings of the city as far as Brough, Cottingham and Hornsea. The HU20 district is something of a curiosity, falling outside the relatively logical numbering which more or less spirals clockwise from the city centre.

At Local Government reorganisation in 1974, the new county of Humberside was treated by the Royal Mail as two counties, North Humberside and South Humberside.

NB Royal Mail ceased the requirement for county names on addresses in 1996 and these were not updated after local government reorganisation of the following year. Therefore, N. Humberside remains correct for postal purposes and East Yorkshire has never been officially adopted – much to the chagrin of many of the residents of the area who very much identify themselves with Yorkshire.

HU1-12 – postal address HULL




HU13 – postal address HESSLE, N. Humberside
HU14 – postal address NORTH FERRIBY, N. Humberside
HU15 – postal address BROUGH, N. Humberside
HU16 – postal address COTTINGHAM, N. Humberside


HU17 – postal address BEVERLEY, N. Humberside
HU18 – postal address HORNSEA, N. Humberside
HU19 – postal address WITHERNSEA, N. Humberside
HU20 – postal address COTTINGHAM, N. Humberside (again)

HX

HX are the first and last letters of Halifax and this smaller than average postcode area extends generally westward from the town.

HX1-4 – postal address HALIFAX, W. Yorkshire


HX5 – postal address ELLAND, W. Yorkshire
HX6 – postal address SOWERBY BRIDGE, W. Yorkshire
HX7 – postal address HEBDEN BRIDGE, W. Yorkshire

IG

The G in IG is perhaps the biggest conundrum in the whole of the UK postcode system, because the IG area is Ilford. Each letter of the word Ilford is available to follow I, so where does the G come from? This is a question to which I have not found a definitive answer. One suggestion is that IG stands for Ilford, Greater London: that is surely nonsense as no other postcode area features a county in this way – and numerous other postcode areas are based in Greater London. Another suggestion that it is the G in Chigwell seems unlikely, but there is perhaps some merit in the thought that IG are the first and last letters of 'Ilford & Barking'. But IB is available and would surely be preferred? The suggestion that holds water the most is perhaps that IG is derived from 'Ilford & Gants Hill' but this is still not entirely satisfactory; Gants Hill is relatively minor and is so close to Ilford that one would surely assume that it was in the same area.

Anyway, after all that, however it derives its name the IG area is a narrow, tall area extending from Barking in the south to Loughton in the north.

The addresses within Greater London but outside the London postcode areas still allude to their historical counties, so Essex is still the correct county name.

IG1-6 – postal address ILFORD, Essex



IG7 – postal address CHIGWELL, Essex
IG8 – postal address WOODFORD GREEN, Essex
IG9 – postal address BUCKHURST HILL, Essex
IG10 – postal address LOUGHTON, Essex
IG11 – postal address BARKING, Essex

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