Baldock is a historic market town inside the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the ceremonial county of Hertfordshire, England where the River Ivel rises. It is located 33 miles (53 kilometres) north of London, and boasts a population of around 9900. Nearby towns include Royston to the northeast, Letchworth and Hitchin to the southwest and Stevenage towards the south. The modern layout of the town and many buildings in the centre date from the sixteenth century, with the earliest dating from the fourteenth century. The town thrived where the old Great North Road and the Icknield Way crossed. In spite of the construction of the A1(M) motorway in 1963, which bypassed the town, and which was referred to as the Baldock Bypass for some years, it was nonetheless a significant traffic bottleneck until March 2006, when a new bypass removed the A505 road, a part of the old Icknield Way to the east of Baldock. Since the 16th century, Baldock has been a centre for malting, subsequently becoming a regional brewing centre with at least three substantial brewers in operation in the area at the close of the 19th century, despite a decline in demand for the varieties of beer made locally. The 1881 Census records approximately thirty drinking establishments. Throughout the early 20th century, a sizeable number of pubs remained open, many of which were sustained by the adjacent and much bigger town of Letchworth, which had no alcohol retailers before 1958, and had only 2 pubs and 1 hotel bar until the mid-1990s. Its bigger population had for a lot of years visited both Baldock and Hitchin for refreshment. For all your property improvements, be sure that you utilise vetted experts in Baldock to ensure you get the best quality service.