When the postal system was found to be largely successful and well received, it was extended to other large UK towns and cities, including Manchester , Liverpool , Dublin, Glasgow. During the winter of , the Postmaster General a Cabinet-level ministerial position in Government approved the introduction of postcode classifications for "every provincial town in the United Kingdom large enough to justify it", so all businesses and householders were sent notification of the introduction, letting them know what their postcode district was, and a campaign was started in to encourage people to use their postcode.
Every postbox had a poster asking users to include their postcode on their mail. In the 's The Post Office started using electromechanical post sorting machines to help speed up the process of sorting mail. These machines processed letters, presenting an item of mail to a human operator, who would then sort the letter into the appropriate 'bin'. The addition of postcodes sped up the process, and no longer meant that the operator had to remember the correct sorting for the mail. During the late 50's the Post Office conducted research into the attitudes of the general public with regards to using postcodes, and following a positive result they decided to extend postcodes to the remainder of the UK, which lasted at least another decade.
In the addition of 'outward codes' were first seen - initially in Croydon , London. The codes consisted of the first three characters known as the inward code , a space, then the last three characters, which formed the basis of the modern postcode.
When it was expanded across the country, any existing postal districts were incorporated into the new system. In London districts were also incorporated into the system, and the remaining 60 percent of Greater London were given new allocated postcodes under the system.
Back in the 15th century letters addressed to the King and Queens of England were carried by couriers. This aimed to use machines to overcome the problems of labour intensive letter sorting, and depended on reducing the address to a machine-readable code. The first postcodes were trialled in Norwich in , and in the eight-year programme to postcode the whole country began.
Steve Rooney, head of Royal Mail's address management unit, said: 'The invention of the postcode revolutionised the way post is sorted and delivered. The use of the postcode has evolved over the years and has found uses beyond helping to deliver post. The postcode address file, managed by Royal Mail's address management unit, contains details of all 29 million UK addresses. It is used by tens of thousands of organisations and businesses every day to update databases, confirm identities, prevent fraud and support new sat-nav and location technology.
Around 90, postmen and women on delivery rounds look to identify any changes needed to keep the system as up to date as possible. District: One or two alphanumeric characters subdividing the area. Inward code Sector: 5: One numeric character subdividing the district. Unit: QW: Two alpha characters showing a group of buildings, a street, part of a street or a single delivery point.
Largest size IV, Inverness 6, square miles. Average size square miles. Smallest population ZE, Shetland 22, people. Largest population B, Birmingham 2 million people. Average population , Smallest number of districts in an area ZE, Shetland 3. Largest number of districts in an area BT, Belfast Average number of districts in an area Largest size is IV27, 1, square miles. Average size 33 square miles. Smallest population UB11, West Drayton Largest population CR 0, Croydon , Average population 23, Smallest size EC3A 1, London, less than 0.
Largest size IV27 4, Lairg, Sutherland, 1, square miles. Average size 9. Smallest population EC3V 0, London 0. Largest population E12 6, Little Ilford, London 26, Average population 7, Postcodes, not just for post Since their inception, postcodes have become more than just a tool to help address mail. Demographic profiling: Postcode boundaries provide a convenient way to tie people into manageable groups with similar lifestyles and outlooks to form the building blocks of geodemographic analysis.
Postcode mapping and geographic analysis: Although postcodes focus on addresses, their aggregated groupings and boundaries provide an ideal building block for geographic analysis. Journey and logistics planning: Postcodes are a far more accessible reference than coordinates or longitude and latitude making them ideal for setting departure and destination points in navigation tools.
Our other blogs How to create a postcode map Turning a list or spreadsheet of postcode data into a series of points on a map isn't as simple as using an Excel wizard to do it for you, but it isn't rocket science. TimeTravel: the latest update We look at the latest update to TimeTravel, our dataset of drive times and distances between any postcode sector or district. Cycle to work day Each year for cycletoworkday we take a look at cycling statistics across the country and try to map that data and find interesting trends.
Mapping for local projects Recently, we were contacted by a company responsible for organising charity door knockers. Social change over 10 years With the next census due to take place this year, we thought it was a good time to take stock of some of the changes and trends we noticed between the and the census. Beacon Dodsworth New Office Now we are back in the office, we continue to support hybrid working.
Postcode to postcode drive time and distance What happens if we want a postcode to postcode drive time lookup table? Administrative Geography Administrative geography is a way of dividing the country into smaller sub-divisions or areas that correspond with the area of responsibility of local authorities and government bodies.
What is geodemographic profiling? Data visualisation and colour blindness John, our director talks about living and working with colour blindness in the mapping industry where colours are pivotal in adding dimensions to people's understanding. How far is it to the beach We use Beacon Dodsworth's scripting technology to answer that most important of questions when the sun finally does threaten an appearance.
All you need to know about postcodes but were afraid to ask The humble postcode has been around for years. Yorkshire Day As a Yorkshire-based company, we wanted to help celebrate Yorkshire Day, which takes place on 1st August. The foundations of geographical analysis Displaying data on maps makes it easier to understand as well as giving a new perspective on a problem.
Did you know? Back to blog. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.
Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.
We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies.
0コメント