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 kilometres) north of London, and has a population of approximately 9900. Nearby towns are Royston to the northeast, Letchworth and Hitchin to the southwest and Stevenage towards the south. The contemporary layout of the town and many buildings in the centre date from the sixteenth century, with the oldest dating back to the fourteenth century. The town thrived where the old Great North Road and the Icknield Way crossed. In spite of the building of the A1(M) motorway in 1963, which bypassed the town, and which was named the Baldock Bypass for some years, it was still a major 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 3 large brewers still trading at the end of the 19th century, in spite of a decline in demand for the kinds of beer made locally. The 1881 Census records roughly 30 drinking establishments. During the early 20th century, a large number of pubs remained open, several of which were sustained by the adjacent and substantially bigger town of Letchworth, which had no alcohol retailers before 1958, and had only 2 pubs and 1 hotel bar till the mid-1990s. Its larger population had for a number of years visited both Baldock and Hitchin for refreshment. For all your home upgrades, be certain that you utilise vetted pros in Baldock to make sure you get the very best quality service.