GL postcode district map, Gloucester
Supplier statuses last checked .
The GL postcode area covers 27 districts and 21,671 live postcodes, from GL1 to GL56. It is centred on Gloucester and also covers Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud, Winchcombe and Lydney.
Districts here average 803 postcodes.
Where the GL districts sit
5 districts are plotted without a label where labels would overlap; every one is in the table below.
Where GL sits
It is administratively fragmented, reaching into Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Worcestershire and South Gloucestershire and 3 other authorities.
GL spans the border: 21,670 of its postcodes are in England and 1 in Wales, about 0 per cent. That matters here in a way it does not on a plain postcode map, because water is regulated separately either side of it. In England the Environment Agency oversees drought and abstraction; in Wales it is Natural Resources Wales, and restrictions are set by whichever company supplies the address, not by which country it sits in.
Water supply across GL
All 27 GL districts are supplied by Severn Trent, which is notable at this size: an area with this many districts usually crosses at least one supply boundary, and this one does not.
We are re-checking Severn Trent's status. It was last confirmed on 18 August 2026 as voluntary appeal, and until it is confirmed again this page does not assert a current position for it.
The shape of the GL area
GL7 is the largest district with 1,688 postcodes around Cirencester, and GL9 the smallest with 112. The area divides into 113 postcode sectors.
The numbering is not continuous. GL runs up to 56 but has only 27 districts, so 29 numbers are unused:.
Several districts share a settlement, which is a common source of confusion when a form rejects an address: GL1, GL2, GL3 and GL4 all point at Gloucester, GL50, GL51, GL52 and GL53 all point at Cheltenham and GL13 and GL15 all point at Lydney.
What borders GL
GL sits next to SN (Swindon) to the south east, WR (Worcester) to the north, HR (Hereford) to the north west, NP (Pontypool) to the west and BS (Bristol) to the south west.
Its neighbours run in 5 different directions, so GL is landlocked by other postcode areas on most sides.
GL districts, settlements and water supply
| District | Principal settlement | Water company | Hosepipe ban status |
|---|---|---|---|
| GL1 | Gloucester | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL2 | Gloucester | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL3 | Gloucester | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL4 | Gloucester | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL5 | Stroud | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL6 | Nailsworth | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL7 | Cirencester | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL8 | Tetbury | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL9 | Chipping Sodbury | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL10 | Stonehouse | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL11 | Dursley | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL12 | Wotton-under-Edge | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL13 | Lydney | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL14 | Cinderford | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL15 | Lydney | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL16 | Coleford | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL17 | Mitcheldean | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL18 | Newent | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL19 | Newent | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL20 | Tewkesbury | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL50 | Cheltenham | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL51 | Cheltenham | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL52 | Cheltenham | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL53 | Cheltenham | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL54 | Winchcombe | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL55 | Chipping Campden | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
| GL56 | Moreton-in-Marsh | Severn Trent / Thames Water | Depends on your supplier |
Principal settlement is the town or city each district sits in or nearest to, derived from OS Open Names. It is not the Royal Mail post town, which is licensed data and not published openly. Status is resolved live from each company’s own notice.
Water hardness in GL
No water company covering GL publishes hardness figures as open data. The gap is named per district below so you know who to ask.
| District | Hardness | As published | Supply zone | Published by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GL1 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL2 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL3 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL4 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL5 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL6 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL7 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL8 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL9 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL10 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL11 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL12 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL13 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL14 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL15 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL16 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL17 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL18 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL19 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL20 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL50 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL51 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL52 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL53 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL54 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL55 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
| GL56 | Not published by Severn Trent. Check with your supplier. | |||
Hardness is published per census area, not per postcode, so these figures characterise a district rather than measuring one address. They are a scale and taste matter, not a safety one. Hardness data version wessex-water@2022-2025+yorkshire-water@2026.
Download the GL data
No signup, no email wall. GeoJSON carries the district points, the supplier and the live status, so it can be dropped straight into a map.
District positions are averaged postcode centroids from OS Code-Point Open. They show roughly where a district sits, not where its boundary runs, and are not legal boundaries.
Frequently asked questions
How many postcode districts are in the GL area?
There are 27 GL postcode districts, running from GL1 to GL56, and they contain 21,671 live postcodes across 113 sectors.
What towns does the GL postcode area cover?
GL covers Gloucester, Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud, Winchcombe and Lydney. The area takes its name from Gloucester, and each district is listed with its settlement in the table on this page.
Which water company supplies GL postcodes?
Severn Trent supplies all 27 GL districts. Supply boundaries follow the pipe network rather than postcode geography, so confirm against your water bill if you are near the edge of the area.
Is the GL postcode area in England or Wales?
Both. 21,670 GL postcodes are in England and 1 are in Wales. The postcode does not decide which applies: your water company does, and water is regulated separately either side of the border.
Why do GL1 and GL2 both say Gloucester?
GL1, GL2, GL3 and GL4 all serve Gloucester, covering different parts of it. A single town routinely needs more than one postcode district once it passes a few thousand delivery points, so this is normal rather than an error in an address.
Can I download a free GL postcode map?
Yes. This page offers the GL districts as GeoJSON, CSV and SVG, free and with no signup or email address required. The GeoJSON carries each district's position, its water company and its current restriction status, so it can be dropped straight into a mapping tool.
Why is the GL area called Gloucester when it covers Cirencester?
GL takes its letters from Gloucester, where the sorting office that served the area was based when the code was allocated. Cirencester is the largest settlement in the area today, in GL7, but the area code follows the historic sorting geography rather than current population.