Postal counties of the United Kingdom

Postal county
Also known as Former postal county
Category Postal geography
Location United Kingdom
Created  ??: revised in 1974
Abolished 1996
Number 116 (as of 1996)
Possible types England (48)
Northern Ireland (6)
Scotland (54)
Wales (8)
Subdivisions Post town

The postal counties of the United Kingdom, now known officially as the former postal counties, were postal subdivisions in routine use by the Royal Mail until 1996.[1] The raison d'être of the postal county – as opposed to any other kind of county – was to aid the sorting of mail by enabling differentiation between like-sounding post towns. Since 1996 this has been done by using the outward code (first half) of the postcode instead. For operational reasons the former postal counties, although broadly based on the counties of the United Kingdom, did not match up to their boundaries; in some cases with significant differences.

According to the Royal Mail, the former postal county data no longer forms part of postal addresses. It was removed from the Postcode Address File database in 2000 and does not form part of its code of practice for changing addresses.[2] Despite this, county data is routinely sold to companies, ostensibly in order for them to cleanse their own address data. As the former postal county data was the last to be in routine use, some organisations have continued to use this obsolete data as part of postal addresses. In 2009 the Royal Mail code of practice consultation included discussion of the possibility of replacing the currently supplied 'alias data' with an up-to-date county information data field.[3] In 2010 the regulator advised Royal Mail to cease supply of county data altogether[4] and a timetable has been put in place for this to occur between 2013 and 2016.[5]

Contents

Differences

Counties were used in postal addresses from the earliest days of the Post Office, but over time the postal counties of many places did not match geographic counties or counties used for administrative purposes. There were several reasons for this:

Places part of a post town in another county

First, many of the approximately 1,500 post towns straddled county boundaries and the postal addresses of all places in such areas included the postal county of the post town regardless of their actual location. In a written answer in the House of Lords in 1963, Lord Chesham, Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Transport estimated that about 7% of towns and villages with a post office lay in a postal county different from their geographical county. He went to explain that:

Postal addresses are in effect routing instructions for Post Office sorters and, in settling what they should be, the main concern is to ensure a quick and efficient service at reasonable cost. The general aim is to align postal boundaries with those of the counties and where this has not been done it is usually because road and rail communications are such that mail can be got more quickly and efficiently to and from certain villages, et cetera, via a neighbouring county than via the county in which they are situated. Alignment of postal and county boundaries in these instances would mean either a poorer postal service for the villages, et cetera, in question or prohibitively heavy additional costs.

John Cavendish, 5th Baron Chesham, Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Transport written answer to Parliamentary question[6]

Examples, usually consisting of small villages near to county boundaries, included:

Geographic locality Geographic county Post town Former postal county
Chenies Buckinghamshire RICKMANSWORTH Hertfordshire
Cornhill-on-Tweed (England) Northumberland COLDSTREAM Berwickshire (Scotland)
Hinwick and Podington Bedfordshire WELLINGBOROUGH Northamptonshire
Melbourn[7] Cambridgeshire ROYSTON Hertfordshire
Pitstone Buckinghamshire LEIGHTON BUZZARD Bedfordshire
Tatsfield Surrey WESTERHAM Kent
Ugley and Molehill Green Essex BISHOP'S STORTFORD Hertfordshire
Woodcote and Sonning Common Oxfordshire READING Berkshire[8]

There were additional examples resulting from the 1974 reorganisation of local government:

Geographic locality Ceremonial county Post town Former postal county
Birtley Tyne and Wear CHESTER LE STREET County Durham
Coleshill and Water Orton Warwickshire BIRMINGHAM West Midlands[8]
Seaton Delaval[9] Northumberland WHITLEY BAY Tyne and Wear[10]
Sedgefield County Durham STOCKTON-ON-TEES Cleveland
Stokesley and Great Ayton North Yorkshire MIDDLESBROUGH Cleveland

London

Secondly, the London postal district, which formed a special post town, did not conform to any administrative boundaries. The postal district was created in 1858 and has periodically been revised. However, at no point has its boundary coincided with either the metropolis (later County of London) of 1855—1965, which was somewhat smaller, or the Greater London area created in 1965, which was much bigger. Addresses in the London post town, an area of 241 square miles (620 km2)[11] (or 40% of Greater London), did not include a county; however, the rest of Greater London (60% of its area) formed parts of other post towns in the postal counties of Surrey, Kent, Essex, Middlesex and Hertfordshire. For example, the London Borough of Barnet had sections in the London postal district (e.g. Golders Green) and in the Middlesex and Hertfordshire postal counties (e.g. Edgware and East Barnet); with the NW7 postcode district touching the Greater London boundary to divide the three sections. Anomalously, Sewardstone, outside Greater London in the Epping Forest district of Essex, is included in the London postal district.

Changes to geographic county boundaries

Thirdly, the Royal Mail adopted some, but not all, of the local government reforms of 1965 and 1974/5. This caused postal counties in some areas to reflect boundary changes, while in other areas they did not. Although the Post Office did not follow the changes of the London Government Act 1963 with respect to the outer London suburbs, it did reflect the move of Potters Bar from Middlesex to Hertfordshire. In contrast, Middlesex remained part of the postal address for Staines and Sunbury, which had transferred to Surrey. The 1960s saw an increase in the number of addresses the Post Office delivered to, but a decrease in the volume of mail sent which caused a significant drop in revenue and an increase in operational costs.[12] Furthermore, retaining the existing postal county boundaries was explained as largely due to cost reasons. The Times pointed out that this might cause confusion, noting that in future "children will no doubt wonder why their address should refer to a county in which they have never lived", but that "some people […] want the name of Middlesex preserved because of its historical associations".[13]

The Local Government Act 1972 redrew the county map of England and Wales outside Greater London. The Post Office was considering its policy in January 1973,[14] and in November 1973 noted that "Greater Manchester" would be unlikely to be adopted because of confusion of the Manchester post town, but that Avon was likely to be introduced.[15] When the local government changes came into force, the Post Office announced that the new counties would form part of postal addresses from 1 July 1974, and should be used as "soon as possible". Old counties could, however, still be used until 1 July 1975. It was stated that the rule applied to: "...addresses throughout England and Wales outside Greater London with the exception of Greater Manchester and Hereford and Worcester where addresses remain unchanged. In Humberside it is necessary to show whether an address is in North Humberside or South Humberside. Addresses in certain post-towns have not, in the past, included a county name; these addresses are unchanged, but the postcode should be shown. Addresses in Greater London are also unchanged as are addresses in any place where the new county bears the same name as the former one."[16]

In Scotland, counties were entirely abolished for local government purposes in May 1975. The matter of postal counties was raised in the House of Lords in April 1975. Lord Beswick, Minister of State at the Department of Industry, stated that "the Post Office is consulting its customers in Scotland about the possible use of new postal addresses for Scotland based on the new local government Regions and Island Areas".[17] In the event, the postal counties were not changed. Thus Alva, despite being in the Central Region after 1975, was still postally in Clackmannanshire. Gordon Oakes, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of the Environment, explained the policy in a written answer to a question in parliament, shortly after the changes were brought in:[18]

Postal addresses are routing instructions, not geographical descriptions, and the extent to which the new county names are being adopted for mail has been the subject of advice issued by the Post Office.

Postal counties in operation from 1974 to 1996

listed with official abbreviations, if any

England

Former postal county Abbreviation[19] Geographic coverage
Avon Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Bedfordshire Beds Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Berkshire Berks Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Buckinghamshire Bucks Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Cambridgeshire Cambs Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Cheshire Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974; also extended into Greater Manchester
Cleveland Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Cornwall Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
County Durham Co Durham Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Cumbria Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974; also extended into Northumberland and Dumfries & Galloway
Derbyshire Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Devon Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Dorset Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
East Sussex E Sussex Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Essex Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974; also extended into Greater London[20]
Gloucestershire Glos Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Hampshire Hants Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Herefordshire Covered part of Hereford and Worcester
Hertfordshire Herts Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974; also extended into Greater London[20]
Isle of Wight Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Kent Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974; also extended into Greater London[20]
Lancashire Lancs Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974; also extended into Cumbria, Greater Manchester and North Yorkshire
Leicestershire Leics Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Lincolnshire Lincs Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
London Not a postal county, but the London postal district corresponded to the London post town[20]
Merseyside Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Middlesex Middx Covered parts of Greater London and Surrey; Enfield post town was a detached part, separated from the rest by the London postal district and Hertfordshire[20]
Norfolk Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
North Humberside N Humbs Covered part of Humberside
North Yorkshire N Yorks Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Northamptonshire Northants Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Northumberland Northd Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Nottinghamshire Notts Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Oxfordshire Oxon Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Shropshire Salop Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Somerset Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
South Humberside S Humbs Covered part of Humberside
South Yorkshire S Yorks Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Staffordshire Staffs Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Suffolk Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Surrey Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974, except Spelthorne; also extended into Greater London[20]
Tyne and Wear Tyne & Wear Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Warwickshire Warks Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
West Midlands W Mids Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
West Sussex W Sussex Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
West Yorkshire W Yorks Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Wiltshire Wilts Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Worcestershire Worcs Covered part of Hereford and Worcester

Scotland

The postal counties of Scotland broadly followed the boundaries of the civil counties on the mainland. Offshore islands, however, were regarded as distinct counties for postal purposes. There was no postal county of Buteshire, which was instead divided between the Isles of Arran, Bute and Cumbrae.

Former postal county Abbreviation Geographic coverage
Aberdeenshire Approximated to pre-1975 county less Aberdeen post town
Angus Approximated to pre-1975 county less areas in Dundee post town
Argyll Approximated to pre-1975 county less islands
Ayrshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Banffshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Berwickshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Caithness Approximated to pre-1975 county
Clackmannanshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Dumfriesshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Dunbartonshire Approximated to pre-1975 county, comprising two separate areas
East Lothian Approximated to pre-1975 county
Fife Approximated to pre-1975 county
Inverness-shire Approximated to pre-1975 county less islands
Isle of Arran
Isle of Barra
Isle of Benbecula
Isle of Bute
Isle of Canna
Isle of Coll
Isle of Colonsay
Isle of Cumbrae
Isle of Eigg
Isle of Gigha
Isle of Harris
Isle of Iona
Isle of Islay
Isle of Jura
Isle of Lewis
Former postal county Abbreviation Geographic coverage
Isle of Mull
Isle of North Uist
Isle of Rhum
Isle of Scalpay
Isle of Skye
Isle of South Uist
Isle of Tiree
Kincardineshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Kinross-shire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Kirkcudbrightshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Lanarkshire Approximated to pre-1975 county less areas in Glasgow post town
Midlothian Approximated to pre-1975 county less Edinburgh post town
Morayshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Nairnshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Orkney Covered pre-1975 county and modern islands area
Peeblesshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Perthshire Approximated to pre-1975 county less areas in Dundee post town
Renfrewshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Ross-shire Approximated to pre-1975 county of Ross and Cromarty less islands
Roxburghshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Selkirkshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Shetland Covered pre-1975 county of Zetland and modern islands area of Shetland
Stirlingshire Approximated to pre-1975 county
Sutherland Approximated to pre-1975 county
West Lothian Approximated to pre-1975 county
Wigtownshire Approximated to pre-1975 county

Wales

Former postal county Abbreviation[19] Geographic coverage
Clwyd Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Dyfed Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Gwent Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Gwynedd Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Mid Glamorgan M Glam Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
South Glamorgan S Glam Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
Powys Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974
West Glamorgan W Glam Broadly matched the county boundaries established in 1974

Northern Ireland

Former postal county Abbreviation[19] Geographic coverage
County Antrim Co Antrim
County Armagh Co Armagh
County Down Co Down
County Fermanagh Co Fermanagh
County Londonderry Co Londonderry
County Tyrone Co Tyrone

Normally, counties in Northern Ireland are named with the word 'County', and not simply the county name perhaps to avoid confusion with the towns of the same name.

Special post towns

The postal county was omitted for 110 of the larger towns and cities and places where the county name was derived from the post town. These post towns were:

  • ABERDEEN
  • ABOYNE
  • ANTRIM
  • ARMAGH
  • AYR
  • BANFF
  • BATH
  • BEDFORD
  • BELFAST
  • BERWICK-UPON-TWEED
  • BIRMINGHAM
  • BLACKBURN
  • BLACKPOOL
  • BOLTON
  • BOURNEMOUTH
  • BRIGHTON
  • BRISTOL
  • BROMLEY
  • BUCKINGHAM
  • BUSHEY
  • CAMBRIDGE
  • CARDIFF
  • CARLISLE
  • CHELMSFORD
  • CHESTER
  • CLACKMANNAN
  • COLCHESTER
  • COVENTRY
  • CREWE
  • CROYDON
  • DARTFORD
  • DERBY
  • DUMBARTON
  • DUMFRIES
  • DUNDEE
  • DURHAM
  • EDINBURGH
  • ELLESMERE PORT
  • EXETER
  • FALKIRK
  • GLASGOW
  • GLOUCESTER
  • GUERNSEY
  • HEREFORD
  • HERTFORD
  • HOUNSLOW
  • HUDDERSFIELD
  • HULL
  • INVERNESS
  • IPSWICH
  • ISLE OF MAN
  • ISLES OF SCILLY
  • JERSEY
  • KINROSS
  • KIRKCUDBRIGHT
  • LANARK
  • LANCASTER
  • LEEDS
  • LEICESTER
  • LINCOLN
  • LIVERPOOL
  • LONDON
  • LONDONDERRY
  • LUTON
  • MANCHESTER
  • MILTON KEYNES
  • NAIRN
  • NESTON
  • NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
  • NORTHAMPTON
  • NORWICH
  • NOTTINGHAM
  • OLDHAM
  • ORKNEY
  • OXFORD
  • PEEBLES
  • PERTH
  • PETERBOROUGH
  • PLYMOUTH
  • PORTSMOUTH
  • PRESTON
  • READING
  • REDHILL
  • RENFREW
  • ROMFORD
  • SALFORD
  • SALISBURY
  • SELKIRK
  • SHEFFIELD
  • SHETLAND
  • SHREWSBURY
  • SLOUGH
  • SOUTHAMPTON
  • SOUTHEND-ON-SEA
  • STAFFORD
  • STIRLING
  • STOKE-ON-TRENT
  • STRATHDON
  • SUNDERLAND
  • SWANSEA
  • SWINDON
  • TORQUAY
  • TWICKENHAM
  • WALSALL
  • WARRINGTON
  • WARWICK
  • WATFORD
  • WOLVERHAMPTON
  • WORCESTER
  • YORK

After 1996

Postcode defined circulation

The Royal Mail ceased to use postal counties as a means of sorting mail following the modernisation of their optical character recognition equipment in 1996. Instead, using postcode defined circulation, the outward code (first half) of the postcode is used to differentiate between like-sounding post towns. In 2000 the postal county data was removed from the Postcode Address File database and was added to the Alias File, which is used to cleanse data of local, colloquial and "postally-not-required" details that have been added to addresses. According to Royal Mail policy the field is not updated and where new post towns are created they will not be assigned to a former postal county. In guidance to customers it is required that the correct post town and postcode must be included in addresses and a county is not required.[21] As part of a "flexible addressing policy" customers can add a county, which will be ignored in the sorting process.

1990s local government reform

During the 1990s a reform of local government in England caused further changes to the locations in which the former postal counties did not match up to the geographic counties. Avon, Cleveland and Humberside were abolished as geographic counties and Rutland was reconstituted. This had the following effects on the relationship between the geographic and postal counties:

Former postal county Coverage
Avon Bristol, Somerset (part), Gloucestershire (part)
Cleveland County Durham (part), North Yorkshire (part)
North Humberside East Riding of Yorkshire
South Humberside Lincolnshire (part)
Leicestershire (part) Rutland

Hereford and Worcester was abolished and reconstituted as two separate counties once more, broadly matching the former postal counties. Greater London and Greater Manchester remained unaffected by the reform. Local government was also reorganised in 1996 in both Scotland (Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994) and Wales (Local Government (Wales) Act 1994), such that in some places counties reverted to the historic names once again (e.g. Pembrokeshire),[1] but in others the post-1974 names were retained (e.g. Powys and Highland). The former postal county data was not updated to reflect the changes that occurred throughout the United Kingdom.

Extended usage

Despite the Royal Mail stipulating that counties no longer form part of addresses, many organisations have continued to routinely include them as part of postal addressing, often simply combining Postcode Address File data with the data from the Alias File. Some organisations using software which requires a county to be included as part of a postal address have extended the use of counties to addresses in special post towns, which never needed them.

This continued use has caused customers in areas where there is discrepancy between the postal and geographic counties to complain to Royal Mail. Until 2007 the Royal Mail position was that under their current code of practice, changes to county data will not be considered.[21][2] However, after a lengthy and well-organised campaign,[22] the Royal Mail agreed to create a postal county of Rutland in 2007. This was achieved in January 2008 by amending the former postal county for all of the Oakham (LE15) post town and part of the Market Harborough (LE16) post town.[23] In contrast, Seaton Delaval residents had unsuccessfully campaigned in 2004 to be removed from the former postal county of Tyne and Wear.[9]

In 2009 the Royal Mail code of practice came up for renewal, and the regulator Postcomm held a public consultation on its future. Consultation guidance from the regulator indicated that although the former postal county data is obsolete, it was the last available data set to be in routine use and was therefore the most likely to be used by corporate customers for their address databases.[3] It was also recognised that residential customers in some areas were not happy with this situation. The Royal Mail reconfirmed its preference for eliminating counties altogether from addressing, but also invited comments on providing a new and updated county data field, reflecting boundary changes. Postcomm found that many respondents objected to the use of obsolete counties. In May 2010 Postcomm decided to advise Royal Mail to "discontinue provision of such information at the earliest opportunity". However because some existing software included the use of counties, Royal Mail was advised not to implement the change before 2013.[4] The timetable announced by Royal Mail in July 2010 indicates this is likely to happen between 2013 and 2016.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Pembrokeshire (Royal Mail Database) c218WH". Hansard. 23 June 2009. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090623/halltext/90623h0008.htm. Retrieved 23 July 2009. 
  2. ^ a b Royal Mail, Postcode Address File Code of PracticePDF, (2004)
  3. ^ a b Postcomm, Review of Royal Mail's Postcode Address File Code of Practice Consultation, 28 May 2009
  4. ^ a b "CHANGES TO POSTCODE ADDRESS FILE CODE OF PRACTICE UNDER CONDITION 22 OF ROYAL MAIL’S LICENCE: A DECISION DOCUMENT". Postal Services Commission (Postcomm). May 2010. http://www.psc.gov.uk/postcomm/live/policy-and-consultations/consultations/postcode-address-file--changing-postal-addresses/2010_05_20_PAF_COP_DECISION_DOCUMENT_FINAL.pdf. Retrieved 12 June 2010. 
  5. ^ a b Christopher Hope (31 July 2010). "Counties to be axed from postal addresses". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-mail/7919253/Counties-to-be-axed-from-postal-addresses.html. Retrieved 2 August 2010. 
  6. ^ "Alignment of postal and county boundaries (HL Deb 15 July 1963 vol 252 c108WA)". Hansard. 15 July 1963. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1963/jul/15/alignment-of-postal-and-county-boundaries. Retrieved 10 June 2007. 
  7. ^ Residents in postcode row, BBC News Online, 27 June 2002
  8. ^ a b Because the post town was a special post town, the postal county was not in correct use.
  9. ^ a b "Villagers address their concerns". BBC News. October 30, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/3967319.stm. 
  10. ^ The postal county was Northumberland before 1974.
  11. ^ HMSO, The Inner London Letter Post, (1980)
  12. ^ Corby, M., The postal business, 1969–79, (1979)
  13. ^ "G.P.O. To Keep Old Names. London Changes Too Costly.". The Times. April 12, 1966. 
  14. ^ "Changes in local government units may cause some famous names to disappear". The Times. January 2, 1973. 
  15. ^ "Post Office will ignore some new counties over addresses". The Times. November 26, 1973. 
  16. ^ "Local Government Reorganisation and Postal Addresses". Local Government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. HMSO. 1974. p. 185. ISBN 0117508470. 
  17. ^ "Argyll: Postal Address". Hansard 1803 - 2005. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 9 April 1975. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1975/apr/09/argyll-postal-address. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  18. ^ House of Commons Hansard, Written Answers, July 4, 1974, col.278
  19. ^ a b c Royal Mail, PAF Digest Issue 6.0PDF
  20. ^ a b c d e f Geographers' A-Z Map Company (2008). London Postcode and Administrative Boundaries (6 ed.). Geographers' A-Z Map Company. ISBN 9781843485926. 
  21. ^ a b Royal Mail, Address Management Guide, (2004)
  22. ^ MP wins seven-year postal address battle, Stamford Mercury, 5 November 2007.
  23. ^ AFD Software, Latest PAF data news

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