Where is London?

bod1467

Where is London? Darn Sarf somewhere.

saker75

I used to live opposite an old way-marker stating "Hyde Park 23 miles" - it was specific if probably incorrect.

NBLondon

[quote=[Deleted User];70839073]Middlesex ceased to exist as a county in 1965.

It was retained in postal addresses until the 1990s.[/QUOTE]Thank you, Officer Muldoon :-)


I suspect many Londoners haven't noticed yet. I'm where Greater London meets Kent and there's plenty of argument about what is what side of the border (and which border you choose).

AdrianC

NBLondon wrote: »

I suspect many Londoners haven't noticed yet. I'm where Greater London meets Kent and there's plenty of argument about what is what side of the border (and which border you choose).

There may be argument, but that doesn't affect the fact that the border is very definite, very clear, and very unambiguous. If you are in a London Borough, then you are in London. If you are not, then you aren't. It is that simple.

NBLondon

I disagree Adrian. The London boroughs are a political boundary and they do not necessarily align with geographical or postal boundaries. If you drive down the A2 from South London towards Kent (as I often do); you pass a "Welcome to Kent" sign. It probably lines up with the edge of the London Borough of Bexley - but DA postcodes exist on both sides of the sign; similarly BR postcodes go outside the London Borough of Bromley.

AdrianC

What've postcodes got to do with the price of fish? They don't indicate anything other than how the Royal Mail distribute the post heading to that area.

I live in Herefordshire and have a Hereford postcode. My nearest town is in Powys, and has a Hereford postcode. We have the same phone code.

Boundaries are purely arbitrary political things, and always have been - the only thing that determines whether you're "in London" or "in Kent" is the political boundary, because that's the only meaning that "in London" or "in Kent" actually has. There is no "geographical boundary". There are many stretches where one side of the road is Herefordshire, one side is Powys - either side of those stretches, the border dives across fields for a bit. It's only very rarely that you get a definite "geographical boundary" - like a river. Even then, the boundary has changed over the years - for a while in the middle ages, Hereford was in Wales.

Sicard

[quote=[Deleted User];70839073]Middlesex ceased to exist as a county in 1965.

It was retained in postal addresses until the 1990s.[/QUOTE]

My eldest daughter lives in Staines, Middlesex.

Cornucopia

NBLondon wrote: »

I disagree Adrian. The London boroughs are a political boundary and they do not necessarily align with geographical or postal boundaries. If you drive down the A2 from South London towards Kent (as I often do); you pass a "Welcome to Kent" sign. It probably lines up with the edge of the London Borough of Bexley - but DA postcodes exist on both sides of the sign; similarly BR postcodes go outside the London Borough of Bromley.

Indeed. But people get confused because they believe that Postcodes are important, whereas they are simply a device for distributing mail. You can see why, though - Dartford (DA) is outside London and Bromley (BR) is inside London.

It works the other way, too, with addresses like "..., Welling, Kent", although I suspect that PAF has probably outlawed those, now.

AdrianC

Laurie_Sicard-Askey wrote: »

My eldest daughter lives in Staines, Middlesex.

No, she lives in Staines, within Spelthorne district, part of Surrey.

Staines hasn't been part of Middlesex since Middlesex ceased to exist in 1965, no matter what people put on envelopes.

AdrianC

Cornucopia wrote: »

It works the other way, too, with addresses like "..., Welling, Kent", although I suspect that PAF has probably outlawed those, now.

Welling has long been part of the borough of Bexley, which moved from being part of Kent to being a London borough in 1965...

It's 51 years ago... I wonder how long before these changes actually sink in?