The SE (South Eastern) postcode area covers a broad radial swathe of the south-east of the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

post town from the Albert Embankment to West Heath and the nearest edges of

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of Bromley and Greenwich. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the ...

and Selhurst. It loosely corresponds to the boroughs of

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, Lewisham and

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...

plus indicated parts of the boroughs of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...

(north),

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area ex ...

(east), Bexley (west) and

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

(its northwest corner).

Postal administration

The postcode area originated in 1857 as the SE district. In 1868 it gained some of the area of the short-lived S district, with the rest going to SW. It was divided into numbered districts in 1917, by giving the district closest to London that hosted the head office the suffix "1" and all others alphabetically based on a locally important parish, chapelry, topological or built environment feature administering or close to the local distribution office. SE28 is a late addition carved out of the existing districts SE2 and SE18 to reflect the building up of a new London district in what had been the meadows and marshes by the tidal Thames in the parish of Plumstead: Thamesmead. Unlike SW, where a consecutive 50%, there ten, districts can more officially be traced into two alphabetical groups excluding SW1, SE has always technically followed the norm in that SE1 is the only head district. However SE19 was drawn up to serve the key distribution office serving Norwood after a complete alphabetical series so that those surrounding it and SE21 (Dulwich): SE20 and SE22 to SE27 are strictly alphabetical afresh (Anerley to West Norwood) but it has never technically been a "head district". The postcode area is part of the

post town. There are no dependent localities used in the postcode area. SE1P is a non-geographic postcode district for PO boxes located in SE1.

List of postcode districts

The approximate coverage of the postcode districts, with the historic postal district names shown in ''italics'': , - ! SE1 , LONDON , ''South Eastern head district:'' Bankside, South Bank,

(part),

, Bermondsey (part), Vauxhall (part), Peckham (part) , Lambeth, Southwark , - ! style="background:#FFFFFF;", SE1P , style="background:#FFFFFF;", LONDON , style="background:#FFFFFF;", , style="background:#FFFFFF;", ''non-geographic'' , - ! SE2 , LONDON , ''Abbey Wood district:'' Abbey Wood, West Heath, Crossness, Thamesmead (part), Plumstead (part), Bostall Heath and Woods , Greenwich, Bexley , - ! SE3 , LONDON , ''Blackheath district:'' Blackheath, Kidbrooke, Westcombe Park , Greenwich, Lewisham , - ! SE4 , LONDON , ''Brockley district:'' Brockley, Crofton Park, Ladywell,

Telegraph Hill A telegraph hill is a hill or other natural elevation that is chosen as part of an optical telegraph system. Telegraph Hill may also refer to: England * A high point in the Haldon Hills, Devon * Telegraph Hill, Dorset, a hill in the Dorset Dow ...

, Lewisham , - ! SE5 , LONDON , ''Camberwell district:'' Camberwell, Denmark Hill, Peckham , Southwark , - ! SE6 , LONDON , ''Catford district:'' Catford, Bellingham, Hither Green (part), Rushey Green , Lewisham , - ! SE7 , LONDON , ''Charlton district:''

Charlton Charlton may refer to: People * Charlton (surname) * Charlton (given name) Places Australia * Charlton, Queensland * Charlton, Victoria * Division of Charlton, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wale ...

, Greenwich , - ! SE8 , LONDON , ''Deptford district:'' Deptford,

Evelyn Evelyn may refer to: Places * Evelyn, London *Evelyn Gardens, a garden square in London * Evelyn, Ontario, Canada * Evelyn, Michigan, United States * Evelyn, Texas, United States * Evelyn, Wirt County, West Virginia, United States * Evelyn ...

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of ...

(part), St John's , Lewisham, Greenwich, Southwark , - ! SE9 , LONDON , ''Eltham district:'' Eltham, Mottingham, New Eltham, Well Hall, Avery Hill (part), Falconwood (part),

(part), Chinbrook (part), Longlands (part) Kidbrooke (part), Shooter's Hill (part) , Greenwich, Bromley, Bexley, Lewisham , - ! SE10 , LONDON , ''Greenwich district:''

, Maze Hill, Greenwich Peninsula , Greenwich, Lewisham , - ! SE11 , LONDON , ''Kennington district:'' Kennington,

(part), Vauxhall (part), Oval (part) , Lambeth, Southwark , - ! SE12 , LONDON , ''Lee district:''

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

, Mottingham, Grove Park, Chinbrook, Hither Green (part), Eltham (part), Horn Park , Lewisham, Greenwich, Bromley , - ! SE13 , LONDON , ''Lewisham district:'' Lewisham, Hither Green, Ladywell , Lewisham, Greenwich , - ! SE14 , LONDON , ''New Cross district:'' New Cross,

, Lewisham , - ! SE15 , LONDON , ''Peckham district:'' Peckham, Nunhead, South Bermondsey (part) , Southwark, Lewisham , - ! SE16 , LONDON , ''Rotherhithe district:''

(part), Surrey Quays, South Bermondsey (part) , Southwark, Lewisham , - ! SE17 , LONDON , ''Walworth district:'' Walworth, Kennington (part), Newington , Southwark , - ! SE18 , LONDON , ''Woolwich district:'' Woolwich,

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Br ...

, Plumstead, Shooter's Hill , Greenwich , - ! SE19 , LONDON , ''Norwood district:'' Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace, Gipsy Hill (part) , Croydon, Lambeth, Southwark, Bromley , - ! SE20 , LONDON , ''Anerley district:'' Anerley, Crystal Palace (part), Penge, Beckenham (part) , Bromley , - ! SE21 , LONDON , ''Dulwich district:'' Dulwich, Dulwich Village, Tulse Hill (part), West Dulwich , Southwark, Lambeth , - ! SE22 , LONDON , ''East Dulwich district:'' East Dulwich , Southwark , - ! SE23 , LONDON , ''Forest Hill district:''

Forest Hill Forest Hill or Forrest Hill may refer to: Places Australia * Forest Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Wagga Wagga * Forrest Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Albury * Forest Hill, Queensland * Forest Hill, Victoria ** Forest Hill Chase Sh ...

Honor Oak Honor Oak is an inner suburban area principally of the London Borough of Lewisham, with part in the London Borough of Southwark. It is named after the oak tree on One Tree Hill that Elizabeth I is reputed to have picnicked under. Overview One Tr ...

, Crofton Park (part), Perry Vale , Lewisham, Southwark , - ! SE24 , LONDON , ''Herne Hill district:''

Herne Hill Herne Hill is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London b ...

, Tulse Hill (part), West Dulwich (part) , Lambeth, Southwark , - ! SE25 , LONDON , ''South Norwood district:'' South Norwood, Selhurst (part), Thornton Heath (part),

Woodside Woodside may refer to: Places and buildings Australia *Woodside, South Australia, a town *Woodside, Victoria, a town Canada *Woodside National Historic Site, the boyhood home of William Lyon Mackenzie King *Woodside, Nova Scotia, a neighborho ...

(part) , Croydon , - ! SE26 , LONDON , ''Sydenham district:'' Sydenham, Crystal Palace (part) , Lewisham, Bromley, Southwark , - ! SE27 , LONDON , ''West Norwood district:'' West Norwood, Gipsy Hill (part), Tulse Hill (part) , Lambeth , - ! SE28 , LONDON , ''Thamesmead district:'' Thamesmead , Greenwich, Bexley

Boundaries

SE1 has a very long tidal Thames frontage and is in Central London as is SE11 named after Kennington, close to

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

. SE2–SE18 spread across the north and east of the postcode area; enquiring into their naming system explains how SE2, SE7, SE8, SE10, SE16 and SE18 also front the river. Postcode districts SE19–SE27 form a group in the southwest. Addition SE28 is in the northeast corner of the first group. The postcode area maps roughly to the combined area of the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ar ...

, London Borough of Lewisham and

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London boroughs, London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metr ...

. the eastern part of the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazier ...

, the northern part of the London Borough of Croydon, the western part of the London Borough of Bexley and the northwestern part of the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is the southeasternmost of the London boroughs that make up Greater London, bordering the ceremonial county of Kent, which most of Bromley was part of before 1965. The borough's population is an estimated 332,33 ...

are within the postcode area. In 2002, some residents in West Heath, a slight projection with neighbouring areas, wished to have their postcodes changed from SE2 to the adjacent DA7 postcode district, citing higher insurance for their houses, belongings and cars as reasons to change. Royal Mail has said it will not consider changes to postcodes for these reasons.

Map

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 Bexley Media and communications in the London Borough of Bromley Media and communications in the London Borough of Croydon Media and communications in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Media and communications in the London Borough of Lambeth Media and communications in the London Borough of Lewisham Media and communications in the London Borough of Southwark

Postal administration

List of postcode districts

Boundaries

Map

See also

References

External links