Baldock
Baldock is a historic market town in 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 km) north of London, and features a population of about 9900. Nearby towns are Royston towards the northeast, Letchworth and Hitchin to the southwest and Stevenage towards the south. The contemporary layout of the town and several 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 known as the Baldock Bypass for some years, it was still a significant traffic bottleneck till March 2006, when a new bypass removed the A505 road, part of the old Icknield Way which was 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 still trading at the close of the 19th century, despite a drop in demand for the varieties of beer made locally. The 1881 Census records around 30 drinking establishments. Throughout the early 20th century, a large number of pubs remained open, many of which were sustained by the adjacent and considerably larger town of Letchworth, which had no alcohol retailers before 1958, and had only two pubs and a single 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 certain that you use trusted pros in Baldock to ensure that you get the very best quality service.