Why do we have postcodes and what do they mean? | Bricks & Mortar

Since their introduction in 1959, postcodes have become more than just a tool to sort mail. They help to set the value of our homes, define us as citizens and affect our lives in all kinds of surprising ways. Those little series of letters and numbers at the end of our addresses were created to help letters and parcels to find their way more quickly and efficiently into our letterboxes. Somehow, though, they’ve ended up putting us all into slots of our own. They are used to categorise us and predict our shopping and voting patterns. And they can influence the trajectory and quality of our lives, as the postcode we live in can often govern our education, healthcare — and our house price.

London