The NW (North Western) postcode area, also known as the London NW postcode area, is a group of 13 postcode districts covering around 13,895 live postcodes within part of northwest London, England. It is the successor of the NW sector, originally created as part of the

London postal district The London postal district is the area in England of to which mail addressed to the London post town is delivered. The General Post Office under the control of the Postmaster General directed Sir Rowland Hill to devise the area in 1856 and thro ...

in 1856.

Postal administration

London postal arrangements were refined in 1917 when all its postcode districts (seven radial which are large and two innermost, much smaller) became publicly sub-divided; these were named after the location of the delivery office in each district. As London is one post town, district names are deprecated, in favour of the post town LONDON to be written/typed. Within each NW postcode district, PO boxes are allocated to a unique postcode sector, except for two districts which use all available sectors for ordinary addresses and therefore have their separate non-geographic districts: NW1W for PO boxes in NW1 and NW26 for PO boxes in NW10.

List of postcode districts

The approximate coverage of the postcode districts, with the historic postal district names shown in ''italics'': , - ! NW1 , LONDON , ''North Western head district:'' Marylebone (part), Euston, Regent's Park,

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

, Somers Town, Primrose Hill (part) and Lisson Grove (part) ,

Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

, Westminster , - ! style="background:#FFFFFF;", NW1W , style="background:#FFFFFF;", LONDON , style="background:#FFFFFF;", PO boxes in NW1 , style="background:#FFFFFF;", '' non-geographic'' , - ! NW2 , LONDON , ''Cricklewood district:''

Cricklewood Cricklewood is an area of London, England, which spans the boundaries of three London boroughs: Barnet to the east, Brent to the west and Camden to the south-east. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north- ...

, Dollis Hill, Childs Hill, Golders Green (part), Brent Cross (part), Willesden (north), Neasden (north) ,

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

, Brent, Camden , - ! NW3 , LONDON , ''Hampstead district:''

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, Belsize Park, Frognal, Childs Hill (east), South Hampstead (north), Swiss Cottage (east), Primrose Hill (north), Chalk Farm (west), Gospel Oak , Camden, Barnet , - ! NW4 , LONDON , ''Hendon district:''

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

, Brent Cross (part) , Barnet , - ! NW5 , LONDON , ''Kentish Town district:'' Kentish Town,

(part), Gospel Oak (part), Dartmouth Park, Chalk Farm (east),

Tufnell Park Tufnell Park is an area in north London, England, in the London boroughs of Islington and Camden. The neighborhood is served by Tufnell Park tube station on the Northern Line. History Origins and boundary ;Medieval and later manor Tufnell ...

(west) , Camden,

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, - ! NW6 , LONDON , ''Kilburn district:'' Kilburn, Brondesbury, West Hampstead, Queen's Park,

Kensal Green Kensal Green is an area in north-west London. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about miles from Charing Cross. To the w ...

(part), South Hampstead (south), Swiss Cottage (west) , Brent, Camden, Westminster , - ! NW7 , LONDON , ''Mill Hill district:'' Mill Hill, Arkley (part), Edgware (part) , Barnet , - ! NW8 , LONDON , ''St John's Wood district:'' St John's Wood, Primrose Hill (south), Marylebone (north), Lisson Grove (north) , Westminster, Camden , - ! NW9 , LONDON , ''The Hyde district:'' The Hyde,

Colindale Colindale is a district in the London Borough of Barnet; its main shopping street on the A5 forming the borough boundary with neighbouring Brent. Colindale is a suburban area, and in recent years has had many new apartments built. It's also th ...

, Kingsbury, West Hendon, Wembley Park (part), Queensbury (part) , Barnet, Brent,

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England ** Harrow, London, a town in London ** Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) ...

, - ! NW10 , LONDON , ''Willesden district:'' Willesden, Harlesden,

, Brent Park, College Park, Stonebridge,

North Acton North Acton is a part of Acton in west London, and is within the London Borough of Ealing. It runs adjacent to the industrial district of Park Royal. Historically part of the Municipal Borough of Acton in the county of Middlesex, it has formed pa ...

(part), West Twyford, Neasden (south), Old Oak Common,

Park Royal Park Royal is an area in North West London, England, partly in the London Borough of Brent and partly the London Borough of Ealing. It is the site of the largest business park in London, but despite intensive existing use, the area is, toget ...

(north) , Brent,

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea , - ! NW11 , LONDON , ''Golders Green district:'' Golders Green, Temple Fortune, Hampstead Garden Suburb (west),

(part), Brent Cross (part) , Barnet , - ! style="background:#FFFFFF;", NW26 , style="background:#FFFFFF;", LONDON , style="background:#FFFFFF;", PO boxes in NW10 , style="background:#FFFFFF;", ''non-geographic''

Boundaries

Postcode district NW1 is central to London, with the NW2–11 postcode districts radiating outwards to the northwest. The boundaries of the area and its numbered districts have changed over time and are the result of the working requirements of

Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...

. They are not tied to those of the local authority areas served; consequently a locality name might describe varying areas. The postcode area contains large parts of London Boroughs of

, Brent and

with small parts of the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

and those of

, Hammersmith and Fulham,

and Kensington & Chelsea. The NW7 district is a projection as far as Hertfordshire's near edge, which it mirrors or emulates briefly near Scratch Wood.

In popular culture

In 2008, the ska band

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

released a single called "

NW5 "NW5" is a song by the band Madness, which was debuted live at the Brixton Academy in December 2006. The single was released in January 2008 on the band's own label, Lucky 7 Records, and entered the chart at no.24 on Sunday 20th Jan 2008, goin ...

", named after the postal district of the same name. In 2012, the British author Zadie Smith released a book called '' NW'', named after the postal district of the same name, where the novel is set. The novel was adapted into a 2016 television film by the BBC.

Map

The remainder of northwest

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

is covered by the HA, UB, part of the EN and a small section of WD.

References

External links

Royal Mail's Postcode Address FileA quick introduction to Royal Mail's Postcode Address File (PAF)
* * * * * * * * * * * {{London postcode areas Postcode areas covering London Media and communications in the London Borough of Brent Media and communications in the London Borough of Barnet Media and communications in the London Borough of Camden Media and communications in the City of Westminster