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 positioned 33 miles (53 km) north of London, and features a population of around 9900. Nearby towns are Royston to the northeast, Letchworth and Hitchin to the southwest and Stevenage to the south. The modern layout of the town and many buildings in the centre date from the sixteenth century, with the oldest dating from 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 called 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 no less than 3 big brewers still manufacturing in the area at the end of the 19th century, despite a drop in demand for the kinds of beer produced locally. The 1881 Census notes around 30 drinking establishments. During the early twentieth century, a large number of pubs continued to operate, several of which were sustained by the nearby and significantly larger town of Letchworth, which had no alcohol retailers before 1958, and had only two 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 residence upgrades, ensure that you use vetted experts in Baldock to ensure you get the top quality service.