Where is what?

[eepee]

When looking at maps online for a place one has never been to, how do you find the city/town centre?

Should you search for Library? Civic offices?? Police station??? Railway????

Whatever I search for, it often does not seem to be right place when I switch to street view.

Regards,
ep

[AleisterCrowley]

Google maps seems to shade the 'town centre' light brown

[swill453]

Look for the highest concentration of charity shops or betting shops.

Scott.

[jfgw]

Should you search for Library? Civic offices?? Police station??? Railway????

These are often on the outskirts.

Look for the highest concentration of charity shops or betting shops.

This might lead you to a parade of shops in a dodgy housing estate. You would be better off searching for "W. H. Smith" or "Bon Marche".

Julian F. G. W.

[UncleEbenezer]

Street patterns (where arterials converge and suburban patterns stop), one-way streets, pedestrianised shopping areas. Civic buildings, historic or modern.

Perhaps the OP could cite an example or two of confusing cases?

[sg31]

Many years ago I was told when a road sign gave the distance to a town it was always to the central post office. It seemed logical at the time although I have had doubts for many years. If it is the case then the central post office (where there is one) would be a good indicator of the town centre.

Someone will no doubt tell me it is nonsense. It probably is but it's amazing how trivia you hear as a child sticks.

[AleisterCrowley]

The legal centre of London is/was Charing Cross - it appears in legal docs ('no operation in this frequency band within 100km of Charing Cross')
I'm not sure if any other places have a legal centre.
As mentioned above the brown-shaded area on Google maps is a good start.
Railway stations are a poor indicator, as they are often on the edge of town and some places have two or more main stations due to competing railway companies on different lines.

[didds]

Many years ago I was told when a road sign gave the distance to a town it was always to the central post office. It seemed logical at the time although I have had doubts for many years. If it is the case then the central post office (where there is one) would be a good indicator of the town centre.

Someone will no doubt tell me it is nonsense. It probably is but it's amazing how trivia you hear as a child sticks.

And I found out several years ago now that foten te latter half of a postcode 1AA was the postcode of the central post office ... However, many towns of course have lost their central post office so that may now be somewhat redundant as a guide. That said of course 1AA remains a potential indicator of a town centre nonetheless.

I just checked the town I grew up and the town I now live ... te fomer's post office is listed as 4AA - my current town is 1AA still and is in the town centre. However that former town's 1AA is not what I regard as the town centre then or now - albeit its not very far (a few hundred metres)
didds

[Julian]

I was once told decades ago by someone who was scouting the entire country for locations for a major US company that in the UK it's a pretty solid rule of thumb (or was at the time) that the centre (as in most desirable location) of any town's high street could be identified by looking for the Marks & Spencer branch and then pretty much work outwards from there. Of course over the decades there are now the smaller food-only M&S branches and the out of town stores that distort that picture a bit but for medium and major towns searching for the original main M&S presence is probably still a pretty decent way to find the centre of the centre.

- Julian

[mc2fool]

And I found out several years ago now that foten te latter half of a postcode 1AA was the postcode of the central post office ...

I wonder if the Queen knows that

SW1A 1AA is a large user postcode in City of Westminster. It was first introduced in January 1980.

'Large User' postcodes are allocated to organisations which receive large amounts of post. Unlike standard geographic postcodes, which cover up to 80 addresses, a large user postcode is unique to a single address.

To the best of our knowledge, the current address of this postcode is:
Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA.

https://checkmypostcode.uk/sw1a1aa

[Gaggsy]

And I found out several years ago now that foten te latter half of a postcode 1AA was the postcode of the central post office ...

To the best of our knowledge, the current address of this postcode is:
Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA.
https://checkmypostcode.uk/sw1a1aa

And W1A 1AA is BBC Broadcasting House

I suspect London has a few anomalies but N1 and NW11 seem to follow the post office rule

[AleisterCrowley]

Royal Mail in Wolverhampton is WV1 1AA, Farringdon Rd is EC1A 1AA
I did spot this 1AA/post office thing whilst casually browsing the postcode /address finder a year or two back (anything to avoid work)


DAK if all towns have a legally defined 'centre' for legal purposes?

[DrivingTheGetAwayCar]

I think you can just put a '1' after the postcode area, for example you can put LE1

[redsturgeon]

I always think the Town Hall is quite central.

John

[AleisterCrowley]

I reckon if there's a 'High Street', then mark the commercial and civic buildings along it and pick the centre of the cluster....
There are quite a few places that seem to have two or more 'centres' though. From memory Amersham has a main street down towards the hospital and another one by the railway station

[pje16]

I live in a road called High Street
It is over a mile from the town centre where all the shops and train station is
an anomaly I know

[AleisterCrowley]

Perhaps it was the main street before the railway arrived!

[pje16]

No, good guess, but where I am existed before it did

[Hallucigenia]

Banks are a pretty good guide to the commercial heart of a town, particularly either Natwest or Barclays and especially if you've got say 3 of the Big 4 all together, even if at least one of them will now be a Wetherspoons.

In smaller places, halfway between the front door of the pub and the gateway to the churchyard is a pretty good place to start, although in maybe 20% of cases one or other will be nowhere near.

I *think* former post offices retain their postcode even if the posties have moved elsewhere. Hmm - I've checked two examples I know, one now has a xxxx 1AB and the other seems to have just a random one. So maybe not.

[UncleEbenezer]

Perhaps it was the main street before the railway arrived!

This High Street (where I once lived) was never centre of anything.