Odd and Even house numbers

[John]

I was once told that if you face toward town center, houses closest to your right are odd numbers and that those on your left are even numbers?

 

Is this true or a load of crap?

 

Have you heard of this before?

 

The roads that not going toward town, tell me what house numbers are in front of you as you look toward town, are they odd or even?

 

[t020]

Yeah its true as far as I know. Its because numbers work their way up in an out of town direction, starting 1 on the left, 2 on the right, etc. So if you face town then the odd numbers will be on your right, evens on your left. This is more true of bigger roads I think. I'm not sure how well it holds up on smaller residential roads. One example I could draw on is the numbering system on a cul de sac road in Totley called Rowantree Dell, where the house numbers go round 1,2,3, etc., so that next door neighbours are 1 number apart and odd/even numbers aren't on different sides.

[blondee]

never thought about it before, but it's true where I've lived in the past. However, I now live in the city centre and it doesn't work at this address!

[max]

It's generally true in Sheffield but not anywhere else to my knowledge. Having been a post office driver in a previous existence it made life a lot simpler. You only had to see one number on a road and you would then know which way to turn for the number you were looking for. If you were facing, for instance, number 12 you knew that lower numbers were to your right.

[Tony Ruscoe]

I've heard they always number from the city centre outwards, but never really thought about which side of the road they start on...

 

It seems to be true for my road though.

[blackbox]

same here, (fitzwalter rd) i can remember my dad saying when he was in germany they used to number the houses as they were completed so 1 could be at the beginning and 2 next to it with 3 down the other end and being amongst 83 and 57 etc..... i just felt sorry for the postie

[richard]

Works on glossop road.

[IanR]

I used to live in Oxford, and many of the roads there number sequentially up one side and down the other, so 1 is next door to 2 and opposite 76 (or whatever). They do the odds and evens thing more out of the city centre. Consistently inconsistent :-)

[saxon51]

True on my road aswell.

Must make life easier for mail delivery.

Imagine numbers 1- whatever down one side then whatever onwards down the other. Postie would have to walk the length of the road twice. Now he just has to nip backwards and forwards across the road when necessary IE 1, 2, 3, etc. to the end of the road once.

[max]

Originally posted by markham

True on my road aswell.

Must make life easier for mail delivery.

Imagine numbers 1- whatever down one side then whatever onwards down the other. Postie would have to walk the length of the road twice. Now he just has to nip backwards and forwards across the road when necessary IE 1, 2, 3, etc. to the end of the road once.

Makes no difference to the postman at all. When you do a 'walk' for the first time somebody else 'throws' it off for you in such a way that you have the minimum of leg work to do.

 

btw If you see strange writing on your letters it is usually code for an instruction. e.g. tl = turn left, gth = go thru' hedge, bd = big dog, etc.