London Letterbox Delivers Leaflets. What is a Postcode? - London Letterbox Marketing Delivers Letters, Leaflets, Newspapers and Magazines to all London postcodes

You see them every day on your mail and no doubt use them for your sat nav, finding a local plumber on Google, ordering goods via Amazon and for paying your bills - but what are they and why do we have them? The current postal code system in the UK was introduced by the Royal Mail over a 15-year period from October 1959 to 1974 in order speed up collection, sorting and to allow the introduction of automated sorting. A full postcode is known as a 'spostcode unit's and usually corresponds to a limited number of residential and business addresses or a single large delivery point. An earlier system of postal districts was implemented in London and other large cities from 1857. In London this system was refined in 1917 to include numbered subdivisions, extending to the other cities in 1934. These earlier districts were later incorporated into the national postcode system. The system breaks down the UK in various areas, districts, sectors and units (ie the 'spostcode's we use regularly on our mail and sat nav is actually the 'spostcode unit's) and within each postcode unit there will be an average 16 individual homes or businesses. There are special postcode units for Buckingham Palace, the Prime Minister and the Houses of Parliament amongst others ...... and even Father Christmas (ie SAN TA1)! Component: Postcode area - Example: YO - Numbers of UK codes:124, Component: Postcode district - Example: YO31 - Numbers of UK codes:2,971, Component: Postcode sector - Example: YO31 1 - Numbers of UK codes:10,631, Component: Postcode unit - Example: YO31 1EB - Numbers of UK codes:1,762,464, Component: Individual Postcode addresses - Numbers of UK codes:approx.27,000,000, Postcodes have been adopted for a wide range of purposes in addition to aiding the automated sorting of the mail: to calculate insurance premiums: designate destinations in route planning software; they are used as the geographic building blocks of the Census and other research. Postcode data is stored, maintained and periodically updated in the Postcode Address File database, along with the full address data for around 27.5 million delivery points. London Letterbox Marketing use the Postal Address Database every day for many clients and we can use it to help you deliver your messages and promotions accurately and efficiently. To find out more call London Letterbox Marketing on 0208 940 0666 or contact us on Sales@londonletterboxmaketing.co.uk