Information about Post Town
A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.[1] Including the correct post town in the address increases the chances of a letter or parcel being delivered on time.
In some places several post towns correspond to a single postal district with each post town covering one or more postcode sectors within the district. In a limited number of localities a single sector may contain multiple post towns - a 'shared sector' - and in these cases only the last two digits of the postcode directly identify the post town.
Each post town is a subdivision of, and entirely contained within, a larger postal area; with the exception of the LONDON post town which instead occupies, and is divided into, several postal areas. Often a post town area corresponds with the area served by a single Royal Mail delivery office. However this is by no means a hard rule, as several small post towns can sometimes share a single delivery office, and conversely a large post town will usually be served by multiple delivery offices.
The system means that some addresses will have post towns that correspond to a place nearby, or cover a very large area.
In a limited number of places a second 'double dependent locality' line is also required. Dependent localities are usually only in place where there is more than one road with the same name covered by a post town or postal district.
However, the Royal Mail discourage this usage[1] because of the risk of additional characters affecting the performance of their optical character recognition technology.
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of images of handwritten or typewritten text (usually captured by a scanner) into
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Organisation
There are approximately 1,500 post towns which are organised at the convenience of the Royal Mail. Each post town usually corresponds to one or more postal districts and each post town can cover an area including many individual towns and villages. Post towns rarely correspond to political boundaries and often group places that for all other purposes are quite separate.In some places several post towns correspond to a single postal district with each post town covering one or more postcode sectors within the district. In a limited number of localities a single sector may contain multiple post towns - a 'shared sector' - and in these cases only the last two digits of the postcode directly identify the post town.
Each post town is a subdivision of, and entirely contained within, a larger postal area; with the exception of the LONDON post town which instead occupies, and is divided into, several postal areas. Often a post town area corresponds with the area served by a single Royal Mail delivery office. However this is by no means a hard rule, as several small post towns can sometimes share a single delivery office, and conversely a large post town will usually be served by multiple delivery offices.
Usage
The Royal Mail states that the post town must be included on all items of mail immediately above the postcode and should be printed in capitals.- 1 Valance Road
- LONDON
- E2 1AA
The system means that some addresses will have post towns that correspond to a place nearby, or cover a very large area.
Dependent locality
In some places in order to give further direction an additional 'dependent locality' is added above the post town giving a more specific location name. In most cases, including in the LONDON post town, this is not a required part of the address. However, if no postcode is used, or if the sorting machine rejects the letter, the use of locality will significantly speed up manual sorting.- 1 Valance Road
- Bethnal Green
- LONDON
- E2 1AA
In a limited number of places a second 'double dependent locality' line is also required. Dependent localities are usually only in place where there is more than one road with the same name covered by a post town or postal district.
VIA
Traditionally, where a place was served by a post town entirely distinct from its location the text 'via' or 'near' was added before the post town. Such as:- 1 High Street
- Sewardstone
- VIA LONDON
- E4 1AA
However, the Royal Mail discourage this usage[1] because of the risk of additional characters affecting the performance of their optical character recognition technology.
See also
- List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom — the main postal sorting centres
- List of post towns in the United Kingdom — the post towns grouped by postal areas
- List of postal districts in the United Kingdom — the post town for each district
- Postal counties of the United Kingdom
- UK postcodes
References
External links
Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" [2] (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
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"Dieu et mon droit" [2] (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
..... Read more.
Royal Mail Group Ltd
Limited
Founded 1660
Headquarters London , United Kingdom
Industry postal service
Subsidiaries Post Office Limited
Owner UK government
Website royalmailgroup.com
royalmail.
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Limited
Founded 1660
Headquarters London , United Kingdom
Industry postal service
Subsidiaries Post Office Limited
Owner UK government
Website royalmailgroup.com
royalmail.
..... Read more.
UK postal codes are known as postcodes.
UK postcodes are alphanumeric. These codes were introduced by the Royal Mail over a 15-year period from 1959 to 1974 — the full list is now available electronically from the Royal Mail as the Postcode Address File.
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UK postcodes are alphanumeric. These codes were introduced by the Royal Mail over a 15-year period from 1959 to 1974 — the full list is now available electronically from the Royal Mail as the Postcode Address File.
..... Read more.
The London postal district is the area in England, currently of 241 square miles,[1] to which mail addressed to the LONDON post town is delivered. The area was initially devised in 1856[2]
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Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of images of handwritten or typewritten text (usually captured by a scanner) into
..... Read more.
postcode area denoted the location of the main sorting office through which the post for that area was filtered before being distributed to delivery offices and then on to individual addresses.
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This is a list of post towns in the United Kingdom, sorted by the postcode area (the first part of the outward code of a postcode).
Postcode area Post towns
AB Aberdeen, Aberlour, Aboyne, Alford, Ballater, Ballindalloch, Banchory, Banff, Buckie, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly,
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Postcode area Post towns
AB Aberdeen, Aberlour, Aboyne, Alford, Ballater, Ballindalloch, Banchory, Banff, Buckie, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly,
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postcode districts, for example PE2. These are also called postal districts or outward codes. In rural areas a postcode district may cover more than one post town.
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The postal counties of the United Kingdom, now known officially as the former postal counties, were subdivisions of the UK in routine use by the Royal Mail until 1996.
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UK postal codes are known as postcodes.
UK postcodes are alphanumeric. These codes were introduced by the Royal Mail over a 15-year period from 1959 to 1974 — the full list is now available electronically from the Royal Mail as the Postcode Address File.
..... Read more.
UK postcodes are alphanumeric. These codes were introduced by the Royal Mail over a 15-year period from 1959 to 1974 — the full list is now available electronically from the Royal Mail as the Postcode Address File.
..... Read more.