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London SW postcode area
SW
Postcode area	SW
Postcode area name	London SW
Post towns	1
Postcode districts	28
Postcode sectors	121
Postcodes (live)	22,318
Postcodes (total)	32,642
Statistics as at October 2006 [1]

The SW (South Western and Battersea) postcode area, also known as the London SW postcode area^[2], is a group of postcode districts in south west London, England. The area originates from the South Western (SW1-10) and Battersea (SW11-20) districts^[3] of the London postal district.

Contents 1 History 2 Coverage 2.1 South Western 2.2 Battersea 3 Adjacent areas 4 Places of interest 5 See also 6 References

The postcode area originated in 1857 as the SW district. In 1868 it gained some of the area of the abolished S district, with the rest going to SE. It was divided into numbered districts in 1917.^[4]

The approximate coverage of the postal districts:

The South Western district^[3] consists of the postcode districts SW1-10.^[5] The SW1 postcode district is of very high density development and has been relatively recently divided into smaller postcode districts. Where districts are used for purposes other than the sorting of mail, such as use as a geographic reference and on street signs, the SW1 subdivisions continue to be classed as one 'district'. SW99 is a non-geographic postcode used for large businesses located in the SW9 postcode district.^[2] The South Western district includes postcode districts on both sides of the Thames.

Postcode district	Post town	1917 name	Additional coverage	Local authority
SW1A	LONDON	n/a	Whitehall and Buckingham Palace	Westminster
SW1E		n/a	between Buckingham Gate and Victoria Station	Westminster
SW1H		n/a	east of Buckingham Gate	Westminster
SW1P		n/a	triangular area between Victoria Station, the Houses of Parliament, and Vauxhall Bridge; eastern part of Pimlico	Westminster
SW1V		n/a	triangular area between Vauxhall Bridge, Chelsea Bridge, and Victoria Station; Pimlico proper	Westminster
SW1W		n/a	area between Sloane Square and Victoria Station, south of Kings Road	Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea
SW1X		n/a	Belgravia, north of Kings Road	Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea
SW1Y		n/a	St. James	Westminster
SW2		Brixton	Brixton Hill, Streatham Hill, Tulse Hill	Lambeth
SW3		Chelsea	Brompton	Kensington and Chelsea
SW4		Clapham	Stockwell	Lambeth
SW5		Earls Court	South Kensington	Kensington and Chelsea
SW6		Fulham		Hammersmith and Fulham
SW7		South Kensington		Kensington and Chelsea
SW8		South Lambeth	Vauxhall, Battersea	Lambeth, Wandsworth
SW9		Stockwell	Brixton (part)	Lambeth
SW10		West Brompton		Kensington and Chelsea
SW99		non-geographic (located in SW9) Freemans & Mail Order Traders Association

The Battersea district^[3] consists of the postcode districts SW11-20.^[5] It is entirely south of the Thames.

Postcode district	Post town	1917 name	Additional coverage	Local authority
SW11	LONDON	Head district (Battersea)	Clapham South	Wandsworth
SW12		Balham	Clapham South, Hyde Farm	Wandsworth, Lambeth
SW13		Barnes		Richmond upon Thames
SW14		Mortlake	East Sheen	Richmond upon Thames
SW15		Putney		Wandsworth
SW16		Streatham	Norbury, Streatham Park, Furzedown, Eastfields	Lambeth, Croydon, Wandsworth, Merton
SW17		Tooting	Mitcham	Wandsworth
SW18		Wandsworth	Southfields	Wandsworth
SW19		Wimbledon	Colliers Wood, Southfields	Merton, Wandsworth
SW20		West Wimbledon	Raynes Park	Merton

The adjacent postcode areas are (clockwise from east) - SE (London SE) - CR (Croydon) - SM (Sutton) - KT (Kingston upon Thames) - TW (Twickenham) - W (London W) .

Adjacent postcode areas W TW SW SE KT SM CR

SW1 contains several distinctive postcodes:

• SW1A 0AA - House of Commons
• SW1A 0PW - House of Lords, Palace of Westminster
• SW1A 1AA - Buckingham Palace
• SW1A 2AA - 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury
• SW1A 2AB - 11 Downing Street, Chancellor of the Exchequer
• SW1A 2HQ - HM Treasury headquarters

• List of postcode areas in the United Kingdom

1. ^ National Statistics, Postcode Directory Version Notes, (2006)
2. ^ ^{a b} Royal Mail, Address Management Guide, (2004)
3. ^ ^{a b c} HMSO, The Inner London Letter Post, (1980)
4. ^ British Postal Museum & Archive - Postcodes (PDF)
5. ^ ^{a b} HMSO, Names of Streets and Places in the London Postal Area, (1930)

v • d • e London postal district
Postcode areas: E • EC • N • NW • SE • SW • W • WC Postcode areas covering parts of Greater London: BR • CR • DA • EN • HA • IG • KT • RM • SM • TN • TW • UB