The WC (Western Central) postcode area, also known as the London WC postcode area, is a group of postcode districts in central

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 ...

, England. The area covered is of high density development, and includes parts of the City of Westminster and the London Boroughs of Camden and Islington, plus a very small part of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. The WC1 and WC2 postcode districts are relatively recent, having been established in 1917. When the districts are used for purposes other than the sorting of mail, such as for geographic reference and on street signs, their subdivisions - featuring letter suffixes - are often omitted.

Postal administration

WC1 and WC2 postcode districts are part of the

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

. Until created in 1917 they comprised the WC postal district. There are no postally-recognised localities used in them. No great recoding in this postcode area took place from 1990 to 2007. Post Offices in WC1 are at Grays Inn, Marchmont Street, Southampton Row, at High Holborn and nearby parallel New Oxford Street and in the other clustered at Aldwych and Strand.Post Office -
/ref> The Western Central District Office was on New Oxford Street, a stop on the underground London Post Office Railway. Deliveries for the area come from Mount Pleasant Mail Centre, west of Farringdon Road.

List of postcode districts

The postcode districts are, with approximate coverage: ! WC1A , LONDON , New Oxford Street , Camden , - ! WC1B , LONDON , Bloomsbury,

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

Southampton Row The A4200 is a major thoroughfare in central London. It runs between the A4 at Aldwych, to the A400 Hampstead Road/Camden High Street, at Mornington Crescent tube station. Kingsway Kingsway is a major road in central London, designa ...

, Camden , - ! WC1E , LONDON , Birkbeck College,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, SOAS , Camden , - ! WC1H , LONDON , St Pancras,

UCL Institute of Education IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to ...

, Camden , - ! WC1N , LONDON ,

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. Almost exactly square, to the ...

, Great Ormond Street , Camden , - ! WC1R , LONDON ,

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

, Camden , - ! WC1V , LONDON ,

High Holborn High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and ...

, Camden,

, - ! WC1X , LONDON , Kings Cross, Finsbury (west), Clerkenwell (north) , Camden, Islington , - ! WC2A , LONDON ,

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

Royal Courts of Justice The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by Ge ...

Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street situated in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It has formed the western boundary of the City since 1994, having previously been divided between the City of Westminster and the London Boro ...

, Camden,

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, B ...

, City of London , - ! WC2B , LONDON , Drury Lane, Kingsway,

Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the area immediately surrounding it in central London, England, within the City of Westminster. The street starts east-northeast of Charing Cross, the conventional map centre-point of the city ...

, Camden, Westminster , - ! WC2E , LONDON , Covent Garden , Westminster , - ! WC2H , LONDON , Leicester Square, St. Giles , Camden, Westminster , - ! WC2N , LONDON , Charing Cross , Westminster , - ! WC2R , LONDON , Somerset House,

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

(west) , Westminster

Boundaries

WC1

The WC1 postcode district () is roughly bounded by Amwell Street, Rosebery Avenue and

Gray's Inn Road Gray's Inn Road (or Grays Inn Road) is an important road in the Bloomsbury district of Central London, in the London Borough of Camden. The road begins at the City of London boundary, where it bisects High Holborn, and ends at King's Cross and ...

to the east; New Oxford Street and

to the south (the boundary with WC2);

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road t ...

to the west; and Euston Road and Pentonville Road to the north, and approximately corresponds to the modern district of Bloomsbury, with parts of

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

, King's Cross and St Pancras. It includes

Tavistock Square Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. History Tavistock Square was built shortly after 1806 by the property developer James Burton and the master builder Thomas Cubitt for Francis Russell, 5th Duke ...

and

Coram's Fields Coram's Fields is a seven acre urban open space in the Kings Cross area of the London Borough of Camden. Adults are only permitted to enter if accompanied by children. History The park is situated on the former site of the Foundling Hospi ...

. It is mostly within the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and ...

, although a small part towards the east is within the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

. It includes the

and buildings owned by the federal

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and its constituent colleges and institutes.

WC2

The WC2 postcode district () is roughly bounded by

and Essex Street to the east, High Holborn and New Oxford Street to the north (the boundary with WC1),

Wardour Street Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the street became a ...

and Witcomb Street to the west and

Northumberland Avenue Northumberland Avenue is a street in the City of Westminster, Central London, running from Trafalgar Square in the west to the Thames Embankment in the east. The road was built on the site of Northumberland House, the London home of the Percy ...

and the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

to the south. It includes Leicester Square,

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

and the

. It corresponds roughly to the former district of

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...

. It is mostly within the City of Westminster with the northern section in the

and some small areas in the east in the

. It includes Somerset House, colleges of the University of London like King's College London (Strand campus), and the National Portrait Gallery.

Map

References

External links

Royal Mail's Postcode Address FileA quick introduction to Royal Mail's Postcode Address File (PAF)
{{Use dmy dates, date=October 2016 Postcode areas covering London Media and communications in the London Borough of Camden Media and communications in the City of Westminster Media and communications in the London Borough of Islington Media and communications in the City of London

Postal administration

List of postcode districts

Boundaries

WC1

WC2

Map

See also

References

External links