Where is London?

[namechangenumber45]

This is not intended to be a "London bashing thread" so please take question (from northerner) in spirit intended - one of curiosity.

I have been watching the news and an awful update on situation in Penge where a young boy and woman killed. I've never heard of this suburb and couldn't place it on a map - but on looking it seems to be a bit further from what I'd class as "London".

So my AIBU to ask where London starts and finishes?

Have the boundaries expanded? Are there some areas that would be SouthEast a few years ago but are now London?

did Hornchurch and Ilford get a mayoral vote then?

I don't know Lorelei. I suppose Ilford did because it's in Redbridge. Is Hornchurch in Havering? They are still Essex though and always will be.

If your home phone number starts 020 and your postcode starts with N, NW, E, SE, SW or W then you live in London. If you don't qualify on these but you live within the M25 then you can choose to claim to live on the outer fringes of London but not London proper. Living near one of the 5 tube stations outside the M25 (Amersham, Chalfont & Latimer, Chesham, Chorleywood or Epping) is not sufficient.

Richmond is either all in Surrey (the historical county), or all in London (the London borough), it doesn't spill over anywhere well maybe into Middlesex depending on the river...

And yet when I lived there as a student...when I lived in Richmond town centre my address was Richmond Surrey TW10 and when I loved in Mortlake (still Richmond borough) my address was London SW14.

It is the way it is. If you have never lived there, how would you know?

But that's the case for all addresses Blanche, I tried it too - it proves nothing either way! I put my grandmother's address in Wales in and it only gave me the town and not the county.

Romford is an Rm postcode
Yes we could vote in the mayoral elections
We are a London borough
But the dialling code is 01708
I consider myself ESSEX
Yes I get London weighting at work
I don't consider romford being London london ( as in out out ) but I consider it very close 25miles I think
We are within the m25
We are part of tfl and soon to be Crossrail ( romford station)
I think thats answered all questions re romford / London / ESSEX

HORNCHURCH could also vote in the mayoral elections and its a London borough but considered Essex
Rm12

Blanche Royal Mail official addresses don't have a county or a London borough in, even where there's no controversy ( e.g. TR18 3BB ) so that doesn't help in the distinction. People are free to include the county or not and the royal mail will attempt to deliver I'm sure, they'll just use the post code and discriminator within the postcode (number or house name)

I consider myself ESSEX

Quite right ShinyShoes2

A GP practice in Richmond town centre: Richmond Surrey address

www.nhs.uk/Services/gp/Overview/DefaultView.aspx?id=44554

A GP from East Sheen in the Richmond borough: London SW14 address

www.nhs.uk/Services/GP/Overview/DefaultView.aspx?id=35602

Some addresses in Richmond are Surrey and the rest are London SW.

it is the way it is.

queenliz yes I do live there thank you and one of the things that annoys me about the area is people who refuse to accept they are part of London and think that saying they are in Surrey somehow makes them better or something

Oh and I forgot to add .. Hornchurch, romford , Elm Park , Harold hill , harold wood , Gidea park etc although Essex are under the metropolitan police and not Essex police

We have an RM post code,
But live in a London Borough
Could vote for the Mayor
But postal address is Essex

Not an 0208 phone number
Tube fairly near
Red bus routes all around us
Inside M25

London or Essex?? Or both?!!

Queenlizll nah, your address was TW10 or SW10 the London and Surrey were just what you chose, you were free to chose the other way around if you wanted to, they have no relevance at all. But for postal addresses most people choose London if it's one of the compass directions, and a historical county if it's not. That's convention, nothing else.

Isn't it anything south of Sheffield?

Both funkystars

Blanche I had it the other way around. When I lived there it pissed me off that people wouldnt accept it as part of London.

They thought going to Zone 4 was like going to Timbuktu.

I never saw the Surrey "snob" bit. I saw Londoners from closer to the centre consistently refusing to accept it as part of London.

Are people in penge all proper peng?

Then they are Londoners.

I'm confused
Romford got a vote but Epping didn't? That's listed as Londin borough of Epping forest.

This is not a matter for debate or personal opinion. The boundaries of London are very clear. London is made up of 32 London boroughs. That is London. Some of these areas don't have a London postcode or the tube, but they are still London.

Postcodes are irrelevant.

They are issued according to whatever was a nearby large delivery office back in the 1970's

For example Chichester has a PO postcode.

It is not in Portsmouth.
It is not even in Hampshire.

"Correct" post office practice is not to show county name in the address, because the county that used to be part of your postal address may never have been where you were geographically located, or it might be the county that used to cover your area but no longer does. Who knows where Middlesex County Council has its office?

I would rather it was London on postal addresses when I lived there but I have never seen a Richmond address with London on it. It is always Surrey or just Richmond. Don't know why.

Epping is in Essex

Today 00:13 sirfredfredgeorge

Both funkystars

No we can't be both ... Not proper ... We are Essex ( funky stars im guessing you're on the district line )

Chigwell is under the Metropolitan Police but anyone who knows it would agree it is most definitely in Essex.

When I was a letting agent in Forest Hill, I had problems persuading newbies to London that it was still in fact London if it didn't have a tube station. That was always fun.

And yes - I had colleagues over and they were all astonished that it was under 20 minutes from Victoria to mine (z3 so not far out!) and therefore much faster to get to than the arse end of the Northern Line which they would have been fine with.