UK Postcode to County Names (Traditional, Administrative & Ceremonial)

Until 1974 the historic county names formed the “county” element in Post Office recommended postal addresses throughout most of the United Kingdom. However, in 1974, the Post Office changed the “postal counties” in Wales and some parts of England, basing the new ones on some of the new local government areas created in that year. Hence, such entities as “Avon”, “South Humberside” and “Dyfed” began to appear in postal addresses. However, these new “postal counties” were unpopular with many people and the historic county names have continued to be widely used in those areas affected. Furthermore, this policy was only applied to a part of the UK. In Scotland, Northern Ireland and much of England historic counties continued to form the “postal counties”.  Ironically, all but one of the local authorities from which the new 1974 “postal counties” took their names were abolished within 22 years! Names such as “Clwyd”, “North Humberside” and “Cleveland” are now long since historically redundant. Meanwhile, of course, the historic counties in these areas continue to be important cultural and geographical entities. The lesson is clear. In areas such as postal addressing, it is clearly desirable to use a fixed geographical framework: one divorced from the very changing names and areas of administrative units but, instead, rooted in history, tradition, public affection and understanding. The historic counties provide this geographical framework and are the only sensible choice to use as the county element in postal addressing.

Retired Postcodes